Greetings, tis Anna for (perhaps) the last time! Those who followed my journey would know that my two weeks at SEYPEC has ended. Not to be cliché, but it was truly an educational and inspiring experience. “Educational” because I learnt so much, for example how to deal with an oil spill, as well as see business concepts from the syllabus applied in real life, like motivation theories. “Inspiring” because Seypec is an exemplary company that puts emphasis on maximizing the potential of the people as well as having international standards though it is owned by a small country; it has taught me to widen my mindset and think in global terms.' For my last day, I got a meeting with the CEO, Mr. Conrad Benoiton, a busy man. We talked about the future plans for Seypec next year, which includes the Airport Depot being moved due to expansion of the airport, implementation of new software like the IFS that increases Seypec’s productivity and efficiency, reduce tanker loans, and most importantly, “people investment.” This refers to more training, which would ultimately increase the efficiency, productivity and standards of the company. We also discussed the blue economy in terms its opportunities and its challenges ahead. He believes there is no justification on why it cannot be achieved. However, he believes it should be led by the private sector and assisted by the government to ensure long term success in an efficient manner. In terms of challenges for the blue economy, he believes the scarcity of human resources is a big one, for example, the fishing industry in Seychelles is mainly comprised of foreigners – the industrial fishing vessels are mostly French and the Spanish. Another obstacle would be ensuring our resources are not exhausted, he suggests that regulations for things like fish stocks, needs to be backed up by a harsh yet fair penalty. He also suggested using drone surveillance to protect our EEZ as it is less expensive in the long term, and easier to coordinate than having the coastguard and air force working in tandem (which I believe is an excellent idea). Moving on to the topic of youth, he advised the new generation to always look past the horizon, pay attention to international dynamics and aim to push Seychelles further on the international spotlight. Moreover, he emphasized to always aim to turn “$1 to $1.25.” On a last note, I would like to give a big THANK YOU to the every Seypec employee I have met, who always greeted me with a smile on their faces, and answered every one of my questions without any hint of annoyance. In fact they encouraged me to ask my questions even after the internship, which I definitely will. I would also like to thank the amazing Luisa Waye-Hive, who acted as my chaperone for these two weeks and managed to create a program which gave me a complete picture of the company and amazingly managed to fit in some of my extra requests like meeting the CEO of SPA. Also a big thank you to the HR Department (where I spent my time when I was not running around) for tolerating me and my “hyperness.”
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AuthorThe interns of the Prosperity & Environment: Promoting sustainable development opportunities for youth in the Blue Economy sector. Archives
January 2018
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