SIX FILIPINO technical interns began work at the Sanwa Dock, Hiroshima earlier this month marking a contribution to the diversification of human resources in the maritime industry.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and Sanwa Dock Co., Ltd. said the Filipino interns will focus on engine maintenance as the companies focused on ship repair for over six decades.

“At Sanwa Dock, they will be engaged in finishing work in the engine department and will learn Japanese skills and techniques,” the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Sanwa Dock in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, has been accepting Vietnamese technical interns for about 15 years. It aimed to diversify its front-line human resources by employing Filipino trainees this time.

The Filipino trainees spent five months at a facility in the Philippines to study the Japanese language and culture. They were hired in February and arrived in Japan last August. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana