Both Nationalist and Labour Maltese Members of the European Parliament addressed a Malta Maritime Pilots event in the European Parliament in Brussels that dealt with the recognition of training for maritime pilots this morning.
Emphasising that she will do all she can to further push the issue forward, MEP Roberta Metsola welcomed the CERTIPILOT project saying that, “the recognition of qualifications acquired through informal and non-formal training is crucial in the assessment of maritime pilots’ skills”.
MEP Joseph Cuschieri also addressed the conference praising the project and welcoming the participants to the European Parliament.
Maritime Pilots are expert ship-handlers that advise ship captains to manoeuvre their vessels in local waterways such as ports and passage areas. To perform such a delicate and challenging job, maritime pilots are not only experienced seafarers, but they also develop specific competences and skills related to manoeuvring a ship. Therefore their qualifications and competences depend strongly on their experience.
The CERTIPILOT project focuses on the recognition of Maritime Pilots’ qualifications acquired through vocational training and the application of the European Credits system for Vocational Training (ECVET) and the European Qualification Framework (EQF) to vocational training undertaken by Maritime Pilots.
In Europe there is a common Vocational Training System as well as a common Qualification Framework and the Vocational Training related to most of the European professions is based on this. However, such system does not encompass the Maritime Pilots Training. The project CERTIPILOT wants to fill this gap by developing a common Framework for the Vocational Training undertaken by maritime pilots with a specific focus on risk prevention and environmental protection in ports.
The CERTIPILOT is a project led by the Malta Maritime Pilots in cooperation with CSEL srl (Italy), Turkish Maritime Pilots Associations and Colegio Oficial Nacional de Practicos de Puerto (Spain). The project is co-financed by the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme – Leonardo Development of Innovation.
