The Country Chief Executive Officer of APM Terminals Nigeria, Frederik Klinke, has encouraged secondary school students to develop an interest in the maritime sector to enable them to build rewarding careers in the sector.
According to a statement on Sunday, Klinke said this while speaking recently during a career seminar held at APMT, Apapa, Lagos.
He added that the industry offers exciting career opportunities for the future generation.
He encouraged the students to embrace hard work and diligence.
According to Klinke, the terminal hosted the career summit as its contribution to grooming the next generation of maritime professionals, “who would run this sector efficiently, ensuring its contribution to the national economy”.
Also, the Terminal Manager of APMT Apapa, Steen Knudsen, commended the students for visiting the terminal and participating in the career summit.
He said APMT had a high number of female workers even though the maritime industry was traditionally male-dominated.
The President of Ocean Ambassadors Foundation, Olaitan Williams, appreciated the terminal operator for the partnership, hospitality, and facility provided for the seminar.
She said Nigeria is endowed with a long coastline that is capable of creating millions of jobs for the students.
Williams enjoined the students to dream big and be futuristic in their career endeavors.
A logistics expert, Dr Ibrahim Adepoju, educated the students on the Cabotage Act and the Local Content Act, which he said opened up huge career and investment opportunities for Nigerians.
Another speaker, Achenyo Obaro of MitiMeth, educated the students on how to produce dining wares, art decor, stationery, gifts, and fashion accessories from harvested water hyacinth.
“A lot of you know about water hyacinths which are seen as waste and a challenge to navigation on inland waterways,” he stated.
