The Norwegian scholarship program for Filipino seafarers will be implemented over a six-year period. Favila announced the Norwegian assistance after the courtesy call of State Secretary Oyvind Slake of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry and Norwegian Ambassador Stale Risa on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The DTI secretary accompanied the two Norwegian officials to Malacanang this morning.
“The Norwegian government just recently granted to their Norwegian shippers’ association a scholarship in tie-up with the University of Cebu of more than 1,000 scholarships annually for the next five years,” Favila said.
One of the leading maritime schools in the Philippines, the University of Cebu was chosen by the Norwegian Shipowner’s Association (NSA) as a partner institution in the NSA Philippines Cadet Project.
Norway’s pioneering knowledge in maritime education, research and development is expected to greatly contribute to the further development of the Philippine maritime education and training through the NSA Cadet Project.
This is good news to graduating seamen, including the estimated 270,000 Filipino seamen employed by foreign maritime agencies worldwide, Favila said.
At present, there are about 25,000 Filipino seafarers manning Norwegian vessels alone, he said.
