TRAINING McCarter felt compelled to apply, fulfilling that desire from long ago to work at the North Vancouver site.
The task ahead
Speaking like a true mariner, Captain McCarter’s first order of business is to “steady the ship,” he says. “There are a lot of relationships to develop, including first and foremost, the staff here. Chief instructors Sanjeev Sarwal and Captain Mujeeb Siddiqui are both very committed to excellence in education and we have had some great discussions so far.” In addition to reaching out to the local shipping industry through organizations like the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia and the Ship Owners Alliance of Canada as well as local Transport Canada representatives, McCarter is strengthening contacts within the main campus of BCIT. “There are a number of services on offer — for example, the Learning Technology Centre, marketing, information technology, and an excellent marine library. He would like to explore more opportunities with BCIT’s Applied Research Department and other institutions. “Other training institutes may have an appetite to collaborate on research,” he said, “and we would be interested in exploring those sort of projects that would add value to the industry, for example, ergonomics, fatigue studies or behavioural patterns linked to skill erosion.” In terms of categorizing priorities once the “ship is stable,” McCarter is facing a tough choice on which to do first because “they’re all important.” With government, McCarter would like to set a direction that leads to greater involvement with Transport Canada, including participation in Canadian Marine Advisory Council meetings and the Canadian Association of Maritime Training Institutions (CAMTI). Ultimately, McCarter is very interested in having BCIT in the position to grant a degree, something that’s been discussed over the years but is still in its infancy. “Whether it’s called a Bachelor of Maritime Studies or Bachelor of Marine Industries, it would raise the academic standing of BCIT and would
showcase us as one of the premier training institutes in Canada and the world.” Closer working relationships with industry is also on the priority list. Expressing a desire to work with ports, pilots and shipping lines among others, he sees the Kongsberg simulators as being a strong part of the equation, and having worked with BC Ferries’ simulators, knows the strengths of their capabilities. “I’d like to see more programs developed with the shipping industry,” he said, recognizing the competitive market of the training industry. “It’s important to distinguish BCIT over others not only by playing to our strengths but by building new strengths along the way.” Pointing to some additional initiatives, McCarter reported that the school has started to build capacity in hydrodynamic modelling and sees an opportunity to develop this into a revenue stream in the future. He also sees more opportunities to tie the bridge and engine simulators together to run programs that test communications and teamwork between the two
departments. “These kinds of programs may also be appealing to companies outside of the shipping industry in terms of providing team-building and leadership exercises.” And of course, there are other programs that can be developed on the training front that could attract industry players from across Canada, including refresher programs as well as new programs with the simulators. “Just last week, we installed the latest software to train marine personnel on electronic chart display information systems (ECDIS) and global maritime distress and safety systems (GMDSS) and we recently added a liquid cargo simulator program so there are many opportunities and areas for potential growth.” But first and foremost, McCarter will spend the better part of his first year building a solid foundation for the instructors and staff at BCIT and getting to know local industry stakeholders. On behalf of BC Shipping News readers, we’d like to welcome Captain McCarter and wish him the best of luck in this new adventure. BCSN
March 2016 BC Shipping News 43