FCFMT Repositions To Boost Students’ Sea-Time, Job Prospects
The Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology (FCFMT), Lagos, is repositioning its academic programmes to equip students with practical skills and improve their employment prospects in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
The Provost of the institution, Dr Chukwudi Onuoha, disclosed this while receiving members of the Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) during an official visit to the college.
Onuoha, who was represented by the Deputy Provost, Academics, Dr Adebowale Aderonke, said the college’s transition from the former Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy had enhanced its visibility and recognition within Nigeria and across the African maritime industry.
He cited the visit of officials from The Gambia, who came to Nigeria in search of a suitable institution to train their students, noting that they eventually selected FCFMT after assessing its facilities and human resources.
The Provost also said the college’s approval and accreditation by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) as a Maritime Education and Training Institution (METI) had strengthened its integration into the maritime industry and enabled it to offer professional maritime programmes.
According to him, FCFMT has expanded beyond its traditional fisheries and maritime programmes to meet emerging industry demands.
The institution currently offers programmes in maritime transport and business management, marine engineering, nautical science, mechanical engineering, computer science, hydrology and water resources management, fisheries, oceanography and fisheries technology, industrial and labour relations, as well as public administration.
Onuoha identified access to sea-time training as one of the major challenges confronting maritime education in Nigeria, expressing optimism that the college’s new METI status would help address the problem.
He, however, acknowledged that the employment opportunities available to maritime graduates remained limited by the country’s inadequate indigenous shipping capacity.
He explained that although there were employment opportunities for trained Nigerians, the number of locally owned ships and trawlers was insufficient to absorb the growing number of qualified graduates.
“The problem is not necessarily the shortage of trained manpower, but the shortage of vessels and corresponding employment opportunities,” he said.
Onuoha noted that Nigerian maritime institutions could continue to produce qualified marine engineers, navigators and other professionals, but the limited number of vessels in the domestic fleet continued to restrict their absorption into the industry.
He said FCFMT was therefore placing greater emphasis on practical and entrepreneurial skills, enabling graduates to create businesses and employment opportunities for themselves where conventional jobs were unavailable.
The Provost said the objective was to ensure that graduates who could not immediately secure placements aboard vessels would still be able to apply their training to create value, establish businesses and earn a sustainable livelihood.
