Women auditors from across 20 Asia-Pacific countries took part in an intensive regional training course under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) held in Singapore (11-13 June).
Aside from equipping participants with the skills and knowledge needed to conduct Member State Audits, the initiative aimed to address the underrepresentation of women in the maritime auditing workforce, particularly in Asia and the Pacific.
The three-day in-person training programme was supplemented by an e-Learning course as a pre-requisite, available through the IMO online Learning Management System (LMS). Through blended learning, participants developed their skills in planning, conducting and reporting on audits.
Under the Framework and Procedures for IMSAS, all IMO Member States are required to undergo a mandatory audit within the seven-year audit cycle, with up to 25 audits scheduled per year. Since they became mandatory in January 2016, 148 mandatory audits have been conducted, representing 83% of IMO's 179 Member States and Associate Members.
The pilot initiative was delivered as part of IMO's Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) within the framework of the Singapore-IMO Third Country Training Programme (TCTP). Participating countries included: Bangladesh; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; the Cook Islands; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Kiribati; Malaysia; Nauru; Papua New Guinea; the Philippines; the Republic of Korea; Samoa; Singapore; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; and Viet Nam.
