ICS prepares for influx of shipbrokers in Varna as shipping firms set up Bulgarian Black Sea bases
 Kolev: optimistic that the popularity of short-time courses will increase. |
The transition from a planned to a market economy in Bulgaria is expected to generate new career possibilities for young people, with shipbroking expected to increase in popularity as shipping companies expand into the region.
For this reason, the ICS has established a distance learning centre at Varna, which forms an integral part of the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy. This has university status within the country and is the main Bulgarian higher education institution for the training of shipping personnel.
According to the centre’s director Stanimir Kolev, who is also an ICS member, the most common form of training offered is a fulltime attendance course of study, including courses most needed in the region, such as Dry Cargo Chartering, Ship Operation and Management, Port Agency and Shipping Law. Lectures, discussions and tutorials, which constitute the basic eight-week course, are held at weekends.
Longer-term ICS courses have not proved so popular, while Mr Kolev sees the popularity of existing courses as perhaps indicating that personalised training courses are not yet necessary in Bulgaria, this in part reflecting the restrictive nature of opportunities within the shipping industry. No interest has been shown so far in short-time courses, foundation diploma course of studies and subjects such as Marine Insurance and Financial & Management Accounting, probably because the centre in Bulgaria is still young. “We remain optimistic that the popularity of short-time courses will increase as early as next spring among students who have failed their exams.”
So far, the courses have been very popular and are increasingly so. While group sizes should be in the region of 12-15 people, in reality they start out much larger. Nevertheless, from an upper figure of 24-25, around half the students fail to pass the course and drop out. The number of successful graduates is 30%-40% of the total intake, notes Mr Kolev. To date, three groups have graduated from the institute. To enrol, they had to have MSc or BSc degrees, or have completed three to four years at the Academy. Trainees are predominantly 25-years old, while females constitute the majority of the students.
“Our first trainees were mainly brokers working for private shipping companies based in Varna. Recently, we have also attracted students from nearby towns,” says Mr Kolev, adding that fees have to be met by the students themselves, although two shipping companies have also paid for their employees to attend as a means of investing in their professional development. No students have so far signed up for one-day ICS training sessions within the UK, although Mr Kolev sees scope for such courses in Bulgaria for people employed in the banking, insurance and other non-shipping businesses.
The price of courses does remain an issue. The average income in Bulgaria means that course fees for Tutorship are extremely high for trainees. However, fees for full-time attendance course of study reflect Bulgarian standards. Changes may be expected in this respect but they will depend on Bulgaria’s state policy in higher education after accession to the European community.
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