Seafarers today are increasingly attracted to sophisticated training, professional development, and long-term employment, a study by MSC Shipmanagement, a part of Mediterranean Shipping Company, showed.

The results of the biannual crew engagement survey, which polled more than 4,500 cargo-ship seafarers, have validated a decision by managers several years ago to introduce top-class leadership training, a range of vessel-handling simulator classes and soft skills coaching.

The company’s training program ranges from Management Development Programs and executive coaching to crew self-evaluation and 360-degree feedback on managers. Ship handling courses are developed in-house and are adapted to suit vessel sizes and the experience of Masters who enact simulations of navigating the Suez Canal or turning into large, busy ports. Such training program has helped MSC Shipmanagement retain 98% of crew it employs.

Some 95 percent of respondents in the crew engagement survey said that training others is everybody’s duty, while more than 90 percent said that they are committed to personal and professional growth and that MSC is a leader in the maritime industry in providing good working conditions.

“MSC has been investing significantly in the career skills of seafarers, creating a culture of training and development,” Prabhat Jha, Group Managing Director of MSC Shipmanagement, said.

“Our people believe that once they have been trained, it is their responsibility to train other people,” Jha added.

MSC uses a third-party survey company, Biennial, to perform an independent crew engagement survey every two years, as well as taking feedback from every crew member upon disembarkation after a voyage at sea.