Under the collaborative spirit by which the first-ever Philippine Manning Convention 2007 was held last November 2007, leaders from the various manning associations, seamen’s unions, maritime education & training institutions, professional organizations, shipowners and ship managers’ groups and maritime-related government agencies again joined hands and held the PHILMANCON SYMPOSIUM 2008 with the theme “Navigating the Road Map” plus a TECHNICAL BRIEFING on the latest PRC RESOLUTIONS last 16 July 2008 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City.
Led by its Chairman and current SONAME President, Engr. Sammuel T. Lim, manning industry stakeholders sat down again to calibrate the road map towards a sustainable Philippine manning industry. Clusters on Maritime Education & Training, Certification & Licensing, Employment Practices an Documentation, Legal & Legislative worked the whole day to re-assess each clusters’ strategies and action plans in addressing the acute officer shortage and improve the “officer production supply chain”.