Under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (‘MLC’):
- A seafarer has the right to be given opportunities to strengthen his competencies, qualifications and employment opportunities.
- Governments with seafarers domiciled in their territory should have national policies to promote maritime employment, encourage career and skill development and greater employment opportunities for such seafarers.
- There should be opportunities, both ashore and on board the ship, for further training and education to provide a seafarer with continuously developing skills and transferable skills to improve his continued employability and to keep him up to date with changing technology and labour market conditions.
- A seafarer’s absence from work to attend an approved training course should be counted as part of the period of service.
See Regulation 2.8 of the MLC.
For more information
See the ILO Frequently Asked Questions (section C5.2) at http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/maritime-labour-convention/what-it-does/faq/WCMS_177371/lang–en/index.htm
July 2014
