6 months passed in the blink of an eye since the TNTA 17 hopped onto the seafaring career. On 25 February, ten cadets from the cohort wore bright smiles as they were finally graduating and moving on to the seagoing phase of their training. Many had previously expressed their love for the sea as the reason they joined the TNTA programme, and the time has come for them to get a taste of working onboard a ship.

The session started off with a fireside chat, an opportunity for cadets to share their views with leaders from SMOU and WMI. The panel, most having been in the industry for many years in their lives, offered invaluable advice and clarified the doubts and fears that came up in the lively chat. They shared about SMOU’s core values the cadets can practice through their careers at sea and also forewarned that both literal and metaphorical storms will come when they work on the ships, but having a focus on completing their training and receiving their Certificate of Competency (CoC) 3 is important for their success. The cadets got their final pre-sea lesson at the fireside chat, taking away useful tips for the next 18 months that await them at sea.