Skills development important in shipping industry

9th May 2014 By: Ilan Solomons - Creamer Media Staff Writer

Skills development important in  shipping industry

ADDITIONAL CAPACITY The acquisition of a 195 m Panamax floating dock has increased the company’s docking capacity by 15 000 t

Ship repair company Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH) Namibia, a member of the DCD Marine cluster and part of the industrial engineering group DCD, is working towards becoming an employer of choice in Namibia through actively developing its employees and providing them with opportunities to advance their careers.

EBH Namibia provided a variety of challenging courses for its staff last year and is continuing in similar fashion this year.

“As a key player in the Pan- African and international shipping industry, we have long placed training and career development at the top of our agenda. This is becoming increasingly vital, as we need to continue competing globally and offering world-class services to our customers,” says EBH Namibia CEO Hannes Uys.

He says, with people development at the core of the company’s corporate culture, EBH Namibia has invested valuable time in recent months in several training initiatives, ranging from management to welding, leadership to rigging, and finance to safety.

“Like most other industries, the shipping industry is changing all the time. EBH Namibia is also on a growth path, particularly in the wake of the arrival of a 195 m Panamax floating dock in July last year, which has substantially increased our docking capacity by 15 000 t and cemented our reputation as a quality, capable international marine service provider,” states Uys.

T

he company trained its vessel managers in the new practices of dry docking in August last year.

Further, Uys highlights that during the same time, EBH Namibia sent four semiskilled riggers to South Africa to receive training to become qualified rigging artisans.

“The training was conducted over six months and ended in March this year. It was facilitated by DCD Group subsidiary training provider MCD Training Centre at the company’s training facility at Table Bay harbour, in Cape Town,” he concludes.