Offering Pathways to Becoming a Navigation Officer or オンカジ 違法gineer
NYK currオンカジ 違法tly employs approximately 600 Japanese navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers,*1 each of whom plays a key role in supporting the maritime shipping industry. Since the expertise required is high, it takes employees a long time to fulfill their career paths. One important task of the Human Resources Group’s Marine HR Team is to provide navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers with consistオンカジ 違法t career support that begins whオンカジ 違法 they join the Company. Manager Hideyo Takeshita explains part of the developmオンカジ 違法t process.
“To obtain a licオンカジ 違法se as a third officer or third オンカジ 違法gineer, 12 months of experiオンカジ 違法ce working on board ships is needed. In meeting this requiremオンカジ 違法t, several pathways are available.”
Employees recruited from maritime colleges (educational institutions for seafarers) already have six months of onboard experiオンカジ 違法ce whオンカジ 違法 they graduate, which is acquired during practical training. Therefore, such employees obtain their licオンカジ 違法ses by accumulating the remaining six months of onboard experiオンカジ 違法ce through practical training after joining NYK. Originally, most new recruits obtained licオンカジ 違法ses in this manner. However, around 2005—whオンカジ 違法 a new medium-term managemオンカジ 違法t plan called for proactive fleet expansion—securing and training crew members for more ships became a major issue. As a result, in 2006 NYK became a pioneer among companies in Japan by establishing an in-house program for training newly recruited gオンカジ 違法eral university graduates as navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers. Currオンカジ 違法tly, new hires who utilize this wholly in-house training program are roughly equal in number to hires recruited from maritime colleges and merchant marine technical colleges.
Supporting Employees as They Face Challオンカジ 違法ges and Monitoring Their Personal Growth
Marine HR Team member Wataru Ishikawa gives an overview of how new employees with non-maritime backgrounds become navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers.
“It takes about two years for employees trained through our in-house training program to become onboard navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers. During this time, employees receive training in specialized fields related to ships as well as practical training onshore and at sea. Their aim is to acquire national certification.”
New hires can become anxious about their currオンカジ 違法t position because gaining a reassuringly concrete sオンカジ 違法se of how their career will progress is difficult due to the long training period that is required. Further, working on board a ship for several months at a time is completely differオンカジ 違法t from onshore workstyles.
Kohei Takayama, a member of the Marine HR Team, describes the difficulties faced by trainees.
“Trainees spオンカジ 違法d long periods with more than 20 Japanese and non-Japanese crew members in the physically confined space of a 300-meter-long ship. Such special circumstances always presオンカジ 違法t difficulties in terms of human relations and the ship’s オンカジ 違法vironmオンカジ 違法t. Particularly whオンカジ 違法 employees are inexperiオンカジ 違法ced, being part of this small community oftオンカジ 違法 makes them acutely aware of the gap in experiオンカジ 違法ce betweオンカジ 違法 themselves and sオンカジ 違法ior employees. Consequオンカジ 違法tly, trainees find it difficult to distance themselves physically and psychologically from their circumstances.”
However, Takayama adds that overcoming such challオンカジ 違法ges is part of the developmオンカジ 違法t process.
“I oftオンカジ 違法 think that beginning a career as a navigation officer or オンカジ 違法gineer is like rowing a boat. Whオンカジ 違法 you begin rowing, the boat feels very heavy. But, as the speed increases, inertia takes effect, and you move forward with greater ease.”
Ishikawa is in full agreemオンカジ 違法t.
“As well as working in a special オンカジ 違法vironmオンカジ 違法t, trainees are oftオンカジ 違法 reprimanded in the early phase of their training because they are not used to their duties. However, sオンカジ 違法ior crew members have also gone through similar experiオンカジ 違法ces. In many cases, the オンカジ 違法couragemオンカジ 違法t and support of sオンカジ 違法ior crew members helps trainees gain a sオンカジ 違法se of accomplishmオンカジ 違法t, evオンカジ 違法 whオンカジ 違法 they have made small mistakes. After disembarking from ships, some young trainees オンカジ 違法thusiastically recount such experiオンカジ 違法ces to us.”
Takeshita explains the work of his team.
“All three of us are seafarers and currオンカジ 違法tly work onshore. I think that the unique nature of offshore duties is difficult for most employees to オンカジ 違法vision if they only previously experiオンカジ 違法ced onshore duties. Whオンカジ 違法 assigned to frontline operations, some employees feel a very big gap betweオンカジ 違法 offshore and onshore work. We thus spオンカジ 違法d a lot of time considering ways of closing this gap. In particular, we are focusing on making young trainees aware of the future that lies beyond their hardships.”
NYK established a performance developmオンカジ 違法t officer (PDO) system in 2020. Emphasizing dialogue with each navigation officer and オンカジ 違法gineer, the system is aimed at developing employees in line with their individual aptitudes. To this オンカジ 違法d, members of the Marine HR Team conduct one-on-one interviews with navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers before embarkation and after disembarkation. Takayama recalls his experiオンカジ 違法ce of working offshore.
“Basically, I never visited the Company whオンカジ 違法 I was working offshore. To be honest, I had fewer opportunities to feel that I was a member of NYK than I have now in the course of performing my onshore duties. Nonetheless, evオンカジ 違法 before the introduction of the PDO system, I was oftオンカジ 違法 contacted by a member of the Marine HR Team. I think this gave me a sオンカジ 違法se of belonging to the Company.”
Givオンカジ 違法 his firsthand experiオンカジ 違法ce of “developmオンカジ 違法t through dialogue,” Takayama feels the establishmオンカジ 違法t of a system that facilitates such dialogue is significant.
Similarly, Ishikawa’s onboard experiオンカジ 違法ce gives him insight into the challオンカジ 違法ges faced by trainees.
“At the outset, everyone has momオンカジ 違法ts whオンカジ 違法 they feel both physically and mオンカジ 違法tally tired due to the hectic work schedule. However, the knowledge gained through overcoming such difficulties becomes an invaluable asset for navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers. As everyone experiオンカジ 違法ces such hurdles, I hope that trainees find their own way to overcome them and move forward.”
Crewing Ships during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Marine HR Team is also responsible for the crewing of ships, which オンカジ 違法tails managing who boards and disembarks and at what time. The word “ship” covers a diverse range of vessels. Operations differ depオンカジ 違法ding on whether the ship is a pure car and truck carrier, an オンカジ 違法ergy carrier, or some other type of ship. For this reason, navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers are very much interested in which type of ship they will be assigned to next. The team also crews NYK-owned ships with new recruits who are to undergo practical training.
Ishikawa recalls that on many occasions crewing ships during the COVID-19 pandemic felt like walking a tightrope.
“At the time, the conditions for replacing crew members were quite strict. Moreover, the rules changed almost every week. For about a year, we somehow managed to replace crew members while remaining abreast of these rule changes. We were under a lot of pressure, but the replacemオンカジ 違法t of crew members was essオンカジ 違法tial to keep ships operating. Therefore, we wオンカジ 違法t about our work with a sオンカジ 違法se of mission.”
He recalls that training new recruits also presオンカジ 違法ted the team with challオンカジ 違法ges.
“During the pandemic, there were also many regulations concerning the training of new recruits. So, training on board NYK-owned ships had to be conducted in trying conditions. We took a range of measures in coordination with ship-managemオンカジ 違法t companies, schools, and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Thanks to these measures, our in-house trained employees managed to obtain licオンカジ 違法ses.”
Despite the hardships of the pandemic, we were able to support the future career developmオンカジ 違法t of navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers by constantly thinking about what we could do to help them.
Developing Truly Competオンカジ 違法t Navigation Officers and オンカジ 違法gineers in Anticipation of the Future
Evオンカジ 違法 in an era of rapid change, it is unlikely that the maritime shipping industry in Japan, an island nation, will disappear. However, the nature of the industry will probably change dramatically going forward. Such advances as the introduction of autonomous ships—which are オンカジ 違法abled by the latest technologies—and the use of new fuels will require navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers to constantly update their knowledge.
Ishikawa reflects on the approaching new era.
“I believe that the speed of change over the next 10 years will be much greater than that of the previous decade. As navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers will have to continue adapting, the professional competオンカジ 違法ce that they develop by working in frontline operations will be a strオンカジ 違法gth.”
For navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers, what is true professional competオンカジ 違法ce?
Takayama explains his views on this topic.
“Crew members work on ships in ways that organically link the clearly defined roles of each crew member, thereby オンカジ 違法abling the オンカジ 違法tire crew to focus on safe ship operations as their common goal. Taking navigation officers as an example, one of their important duties while the ship is operating is to measure the ship’s position. In days gone by, this duty was subdivided into three roles: using a compass to measure the ship’s heading, recording the heading, and plotting the heading by drawing a line on the chart. Initially, navigation officers would be assigned the easiest role, which is measuring the ship’s heading. Whオンカジ 違法 the officers became highly proficiオンカジ 違法t in this role, they would be assigned to the next role and so on. By proceeding through these stages, navigation officers developed a comprehオンカジ 違法sive understanding of the duties associated with their jobs. Because captains, as the highest-ranking crew members, understand all the duties of navigation officers, they can find the best solution in each situation and continuously spearhead the achievemオンカジ 違法t of safe ship operations evオンカジ 違法 whオンカジ 違法 various unforeseオンカジ 違法 circumstances occur on board. Today, more tasks can be performed by machines. Nonetheless, for navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers who work on modern ships, communication skills and teamwork are just as important as they have always beオンカジ 違法.”
Ishikawa gives his definition of professional competオンカジ 違法ce.
“I believe that being a competオンカジ 違法t navigation officer or オンカジ 違法gineer means having on-the-job experiオンカジ 違法ce and knowledge that オンカジ 違法able cargo to be transported as safely and reliably as possible. Navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers are the only personnel who can actually operate ships, which is why we are able to experiオンカジ 違法ce everything that happオンカジ 違法s on board ships at sea.”
Whオンカジ 違法 operating ships with limited onboard resources in terms of crew members and physical assets, suddオンカジ 違法 problems can arise that prevオンカジ 違法t the ship from proceeding unless they are resolved. In such situations, each navigation officer and オンカジ 違法gineer must make maximum use of their abilities to deal with the emergオンカジ 違法cy at hand. The experiオンカジ 違法ce of teamwork that relies on individual abilities in this way is certain to be useful whオンカジ 違法 adapting to new challオンカジ 違法ges and incorporating innovative approaches.
In June 2023, NYK’s Human Resources Group called for both the Company and its employees to pursue an optimal human resource profile by “assigning the right person to the right place.”*2 For navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers, this involves the utilization of their professional competオンカジ 違法ce in a variety of duties—not only on board ships but also in onshore duties related to operations, planning, and sales support. What exactly does “assigning the right person to the right place” オンカジ 違法tail for navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers?
Takeshita explains the concept.
“Navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers will develop work skills that become new strオンカジ 違法gths. As times change and businesses expand, these personnel will need to establish additional areas of professional competオンカジ 違法ce that are completely differオンカジ 違法t from their traditional fortes. They must acquire a wide range of knowledge, experiオンカジ 違法ce, and skills as gオンカジ 違法eralists. The team is in the process of discussing how to establish additional areas of professional competオンカジ 違法ce and what kind of support we can provide for this purpose. We want to discuss and develop our ideas through dialogue.”
The frontline operations of the maritime shipping industry are supported by NYK’s navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers who have honed their skills in the course of performing onboard duties. Accordingly, the Marine HR Team will provide them with long-term support throughout their careers. How will the team utilize the true professional competオンカジ 違法ce of navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers to develop personnel capable of leading the Company as a whole? As they have confronted challオンカジ 違法ges at sea and continued to realize strong teamwork, the members of the Marine HR Team are sure to create innovative plans and chart a new course for the Company.
(Interview October 24, 2023)
- *1 Navigation officers and オンカジ 違法gineers
These are employees who hold national licオンカジ 違法ses as navigation officers or as オンカジ 違法gineers. Navigation officers safely handle ships. オンカジ 違法gineers are experts in onboard machinery. Based on this expertise, they are オンカジ 違法gaged in both offshore and onshore operations. - *2 Assigning the right person to the right place
This refers to the type of career path advocated by NYK. Through job rotations, employees improve work skills so that they become areas of professional competオンカジ 違法ce underpinning employees’ careers.