November 17, 2004

PFL RECOGNIZES TOP STUDENTS

Pacific Forum Line has recognized the achievement of three of the top students studying the New Zealand Maritime School’s Diploma in Shipping and Freight, awarding them scholarships to assist them with their tuition fees.

The successful students were Salomie Vaikai from Raratonga, Kelly Chen from China and Philippiah Nawarajan from Sri Lanka, each of whom received a $1000 scholarship.

Chief Executive of Pacific Forum Line, John MacLennan, say the scholarships are in recognition of the quality of training offered by the New Zealand Maritime School and to help diligent students to achieve their goals.

“Shipping companies no longer offer a training ground as they once did and the Maritime School fills a vital role in preparing young people to join our industry.

“The school is producing well trained people who can hit the ground running and the success of its courses is shown by the rate at which they are snapped up by employers.“

PFL has been acknowledging able graduates at the school since 1998.

Dave Hope, senior lecturer at the school, says the courses are growing in popularity, in part due to the fact that they provided real career opportunities for people in the fast-growing logistics area.

“The fact that we work closely with the industry on course content means that we are producing students that are instantly employable in terms of their practical knowledge and their familiarity with all aspects of the industry. Once again we are facing a solid level of interests for next year’s courses.

The Maritime School currently has 3000 students enrolled in 154 courses. Some 500 of the school’s students come from overseas.

Scholarship winners Philippiah Nawarajan (left) Kelly Chen and Salomie Vaikai
with PFL Chief Executive John MacLennan.

For further information:
Tim Wilson
New Zealand Maritime School
Telephone: 09 379 4997