Seagoing employees
CNCo puts significant emphasis on safety training for our seafarers. In 2019, we ran 46 Safety Awareness Courses (SACs) for senior and junior officers and ratings, covering 727 seagoing employees. In addition, five Safety Induction courses and five Engine and Electric cranes training courses were conducted for new seafarers and we sponsored 34 other courses ranging from welders training, logs and lashing, navigation training courses, Senior Officer attachment programmes and many more.
These were discretionary training courses (not required under the various IMO SOLAS, MARPOL, ISPS or STCW legislation). However, CNCo sees such training as critical to maintaining and enhancing the safety of our seagoing employees and all our stakeholders.
The goal of the SACs is to emphasise and reinforce the Company's safety culture and to promote Zero Harm. The SAC emphasises practical safety management skills, explores the benefits of leading safety indicators and looks at determining accident root cause analysis, proactively recognising hazards and understanding safety control, mitigation and recovery measures.
The total cost of the discretionary training in 2019 was almost USD 1.87 million. This is a significant investment given that the sector was - and still is - facing tough times. This expenditure has been consistent year-on-year, demonstrating CNCo's ongoing commitment to safety and training.
In 2019, 927 CNCo seagoing employees received 22,000 hours of training which is more than double the figure of 9,568 hours in 2018. This amounted to an average of 13.43 hours per seafarer, compared to 5.88 training hours in the prior year.
All CNCo seafarers received a performance evaluation review conducted by their Master or Chief Engineer at least twice a year. The appraisal looks at personal characteristics, team work, aptitude and leadership qualities among other specific skills sets. The process is intended to highlight areas for improvement and training opportunities and identify an individual's strengths for a robust recognition and promotion programme.
Shore-based employees
CNCo continues to invest in learning and development. Across the group, 486 shore-based employees received 5,153 hours of training compared to 3,210 the year before. This works out to 4.89 training hours per employee, compared to 3.09 in 2018. The overall cost of training for shore-based employees in 2019 has also increased to USD 734,471, representing an increase of 128% over 2018 levels.
We continue to run the Green Belt programmes, which equip employees with advanced skills such as Lean Six Sigma methodology for business improvement and excellence. This training is ongoing.
We also continued to run Leadership Development Programmes in Singapore for managers at Team and Operational Leader levels, with 21 participants attending them in 2019. These programmes seek to equip managers with the requisite leadership competencies and skills such that they can lead their teams more effectively. Further to that, they help us to increase the number of female leaders within the Company.
CNCo employees were encouraged to access an extensive selection of online learning resources through, Percipio, an e-Learning portal which was launched in 2019. This online platform offers employees the convenience of online learning. Courses are free.
Performance management for shore-based employees is effected using the "SMART Goals" online system. Performance assessments include a review of SMART goals, performance against Swire group values and job competencies.
Training cost as a percentage of the wage bill for the two employee groups was as follows:
Shore-based: 1.5%
Seagoing: 5.8%
Management Trainee Programme
CNCo has a Management Trainee graduate programme in place which is aimed at attracting, engaging and developing local talent.
Partnering with local universities and industry bodies, it is a rotational programme that allows graduates to gain a solid understanding of the shipping industry and our business in a hands-on and practical way.
Our programme allows trainees to develop their shipping and commercial knowledge, skills and experiences while having access to high quality training programmes on a personal, professional and technical basis. There is also significant exposure to industry networking, senior management and key business leaders, as well as the opportunity to join a vessel to experience life at sea.
CNCo is proud to offer such a programme and to be contributing to the ongoing development of local industry talent for the general public good and for enlightened self-interest.
As a maritime industry leader, we seek to share our best practices with the younger generation of talent through delivering guest lectures at Singapore's Institutes of Higher Learning. These include Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore Institute of Technology and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. We also provide paid guided internships with defined learning objectives.
Employee Health and Well-being
