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Ft. Lauderdale, FL-based Maritime Professional Training – or MPT – has long ago shed the image of being a ‘yacht school’, and today stands as a premier partner in the training and education of modern commercial marine mariners. The common lament among vessel owners worldwide is the dearth of new mariners in the pipeline to replace an ever-aging workforce. The common lament among mariners is a never ending cavalcade of new rules and regulations which make navigating a career in maritime fraught with obstacles of vary- ing height and severity. Enter Maritime Professional Training (www.mptusa.com) – or MPT – the private company which aims to help mariners navigate the professional training and education they need with a varied and growing course list, and also with the in- troduction of its new “Student Portal,” an innovative online career management system which in one place houses and helps mariner’s manage and recover their full complement of documentation. The Student Portal will offer students 24/7/365 access, and just as importantly is offered free-of- charge. Set to launch soon, “the student portal will not simply house documents, it will also help to keep our students aware of new rules and regulations, how it impacts their careers, and what they need to do to stay in compliance,” said Amy Beavers, managing director, VP, regulatory compliance. “Our goal is to continually improve the technology side of our company for the benefit of the students. We want to be their long-term so- lution.” The system employs the highest level of security, and is de- signed as an excellent back-up source for commercial mariners who may need to recover lost documentation in an emergency. As MPT is privately owned and run, it does not enjoy the funding mechanism inherent in government institutions, nor the built in clientele of union schools. Beavers and her staff in- stead focus on the benefits of a private institution, including the volume of classes it can offer in a given year, as well as the capability to stay more fluid and in-step with industry, devel- oping courses as it sees a need, or in conjunction with client request in the form of customized training solutions. In addition, MPT is stepping up its customer service with career counseling even to non-students, and additional efforts to help students manage and navigate their careers. “I am pas- sionate about ‘training beyond the regulation,’” Beavers said, explaining that certain students seek to differentiate them- selves with additional training to make themselves more at- tractive to prospective employers, particularly in a tight job market. 78 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News TRAINING & EDUCATIONFEATURE “Our goal is to continually improve the technology side of our company for the benefit of the students. We want to be their long-term solution.” – Amy Beavers, managing director, MPT MPT: Opening New Portal’s of Opportunity New Key Executive Leadership Master's Program American University (AU) and North- east Maritime Institute (NMI) of Fairhaven, MA, are partnering to offer a Key Executive Leadership Masters De- gree in Public Administration (MPA) with a focus in maritime affairs. NMI of- fers a wide range of courses and maritime training opportunities—used for both professional development and licensing upgrades—for the professional and entry-level mariner. The first session will begin in February 2011. Initially the MPA program will be a 2-year program, meeting 3 days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) once a month. Email: key-nmi@american.edu. New Polaris Skjold High Speed Navigation Simulator The official inauguration of the new Kongsberg Maritime delivered Polaris ship's bridge simulator at the Royal Nor- wegian Naval Academy in Bergen took place earlier this year. The specially de- veloped 1:1 simulator features a 240 de- gree visual system offering realistic scenarios for officer training. It is de- signed as an exact replica of the bridge aboard the Skjold class MTB (Missile Torpedo Boats), which are regarded as one of the fastest warships in the world with speeds of more than 60 knots/h (110 km/h). The Skjold simulator features ad- vanced software that simulates the Skjold MTB movements at sea and is interfaced to real navigation equipment, also deliv- ered by Kongsberg Maritime, compris- ing: 3 x multifunction displays including Kongsberg ECDIS and radar, 2 x opera- tor chairs, AP 2000 adaptive autopilot, custom made bridge consoles and a voy- age data recorder (VDR). Northrop Grumman Opens New Navigation Training Center Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine opened a new ship navigation training center in Charlottesville, Va. The new fa- cility will provide a wide range of navi- gation courses, including computer-controlled classroom training and a full ship’s bridge simulator, giving students hands-on training under realis- tic scenarios. Courses include operation, maintenance, trouble-shooting and repair of shipboard systems for both civilian and military navigation systems.
