From its beginnings as an Asia Pacific-based regional association of marine education and training (MET) institutions, GlobalMET has spread worldwide, and is building a collective "voice" for maritime education and training for interacting with industry peak bodies.
GlobalMET wants to involve the MET providers themselves in establishing global standards of education and training and associated certification, in order to keep up with developments in this rapidly changing industry and bring together a number of educational traditions from across the globe.
GlobalMET – A history
The initiative to form an Asia Pacific regional association of marine education and training institutions grew out of a series of informal gatherings, initiated by the meeting of heads of a number of institutions in the Asia Pacific region, convened and hosted by the Australian Maritime College in 1989. Four meetings followed: at Dalian Maritime University in China, Fiji Institute of Technology in Suva, Far Eastern State Maritime Academy in Vladivostok and at the New Zealand Maritime School in Auckland. The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation expressed strong support and senior IMO officials attended the meetings.
At the Auckland meeting in December 1995, it was unanimously resolved to establish an Asia Pacific regional association. Consequently, representatives of some 18 maritime education and training institutions in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia and Singapore met in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in September 1996 and inaugurated the Association of Maritime Education and Training Institutions in Asia Pacific (AMETIAP).
In addition to the support from IMO, support for the initiative also came from the Hong Kong Shipowners' Association and the Hong Kong maritime unions.
In December 2002, GlobalMET was incorporated in Australia as AMETIAP (Global) with the registered office at the Australian Maritime College.
The name Global Maritime Education and Training Association, with the working name GlobalMET and a new logo, were adopted in 2006, to reflect the growing global role with more members based outside the Asia Pacific region. In February 2007, the registered name in Australia was changed to GlobalMET.
In June 2008, at its 100th Session, the IMO Council approved GlobalMET's application for NGO Consultancy Status, and this was endorsed by the IMO Assembly at its meeting in November 2009.
MET providers are now also able to have input into working and correspondence groups such as the current Correspondence Group on e-Navigation led by Norway and which encompasses the training associated with the e-navigation revolution.
GlobalMET now has over 100 members in 35 countries.
Objectives
The establishment of GlobalMET arose from the participants' desire to support the aims and objectives of IMO for "safer ships and cleaner oceans" and recognition of the vital importance of maritime education and training in fulfilling the needs of expanding trade and economic growth, and the urgent need for collective efforts in maritime education and training to promote greater safety at sea and protection of the marine environment.
GlobalMET's objectives are to:
"Efficient, safe, clean, secure shipping is absolutely critical to the world economy and to world peace," explained Rod Short, Executive Secretary of GlobalMET. "Maritime transport handles over 90 percent of international trade. The manning of some 45,000 ships engaged in international trade is done by less than one and a half million seafarers. So much is owed to so few!
"The trend is increasingly to recruit relatively low cost labour from developing countries. The industry is a leader in the globalisation of its employment. Crews can be comprised of people from several cultures, with very different educational backgrounds. There is serious need for a more effective, globally recognised quality system of education, training and certification that meets the needs of employees and accords with the needs of a rapidly changing and fundamentally important industry. The educators themselves must be fully involved in identifying the needs and building appropriate responses. GlobalMET, as a global network, is in a position to bring a collective approach on the part of the MET providers.
"With increased awareness of the need for improvements in MET, the growing strength of the network and more effective marketing of the benefits of membership, the number of members can be significantly increased, the aim being to eventually include the large majority of all MET institutions. When that stage is reached, GlobalMET can be a true 'voice' for MET."
