Go to content

Study programmes for trainers

Mainstream education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. It is supervised by the Inspectorate of Education. If you have any questions regarding mainstream education, please contact the Inspectorate of Education. Contract teaching is the responsibility of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. It is supervised by the Transport, Public Works and Water Management/Netherlands Shipping Inspectorate (NSI) (the Inspectorate). A major part of this supervision consists of accrediting (approving) contract training courses.

This approval is based on the Recognition Regulation Maritime Crews Trainings. The approval procedure is made up of three parts:

  • Application
  • Assessment
  • Accreditation

Application procedure

  • For a training course to be approved, a written application must be submitted to the Inspectorate. One application must be submitted for each course. For more information contact NSI-STCW@ilent.nl.
  • The following information needs to be submitted along with the application form, conform Article 2 of the Recognition Regulation Maritime Crews Trainings. For more information contact NSI-STCW@ilent.nl.
    * The teaching material used during the training course. 
    * A lesson plan showing the content and duration of the course as well as the examination structure. For more information contact NSI-STCW@ilent.nl.
    * An example of the diploma or certificate that is issued upon successful completion of the course. See STCW.7-Circ. 15 info about certificates, at the bottom of this page.
    * An overview of the teachers who are competent to teach all or part of the course, and their qualifications.
    * A copy of the quality system used by the institution, as well as a recent report of its performance drawn up by an independent body or certification institute.
  • The criteria and time limits mentioned in the General Administrative Law Act (Awb) apply to all applications. For this reason, all applications must be completed at least four weeks before the assessment. Regarding the submission of applications, your attention is also drawn to the additional information on this page.

Assessment procedure

  • The framework of standards used for assessment is made up by the STCW Convention, European Directive 2008/106/EC, EU Health & Safety Directive 1992/29/EEC and the Recognition Regulation Maritime Crews Training. The Inspectorate has also made working agreements with regard to minimum requirements.
  • The information that must be submitted with the application is assessed by the inspectorate before the actual audit is carried out.
  • In most cases the training programme or course will be attended by the inspectorate that is carrying out the assessment. The assessment is primarily carried out in accordance with the audit principle. The assessment takes place after consultation with the institution regarding time/location and period.

Accreditation

  • The inspectorate will draw up a decision based on the assessment. This decision is subject to the General Administrative Law Act (Awb).
  • If the decision is positive, a certificate for the approved training course will be issued to the educational institution.
  • The inspectorate will publish this accreditation, including the period for which it is valid. The maximum period of accreditation is five years.
  • Depending on the nature (complexity) of the training course and prior experience with the institution, the assessment will be performed by one or more inspectors/auditors.

Additional information

  • The charges as published in the Shipping Charges Regulations apply to the above procedures. For more information contact NSI-STCW@ilent.nl.
  • As a supplement to the framework of standards mentioned in point 1 of the Assessment procedure, a policy rule has been drawn up with instructions concerning the use of computer-based training and information on the certificate.
  • The IMO model training courses referred to in the STCW are  considered an important framework of standards for the courses. They provide more detail about the relevant competences from the STCW 95 Code and as such provide a clear framework of standards so that all institutions can be assessed equally.
  • After consultations with the interested party the Inspectorate will issue information relating to the requirements set for various training courses. This is in order to monitor the minimum quality. For more information contact NSI-STCW@ilent.nl.
  • The institute is responsible for monitoring the entry requirements of the individual students.
  • If the training course receives a negative assessment, the participants may not be provided with a certificate.
  • If (structural) changes are made to a course while it is in progress, these changes must be reported to the Inspectorate. See also Article 8 of the Regulation. For more information contact NSI-STCW@ilent.nl.
  • The accreditation applies to the training course and not the trainer.
  • The Inspectorate observes a six-month window for applying for a new certificate, in which the existing expiry date of the certificate remains in force.