Your route to Seafarer Rating (Able Seafarer Deck/Engine)
The whole way from school to the job, then what each way of taking it costs. Every figure links to where it came from.
Add your form, results and a few preferences and this route shows where you are on it, how your grades compare and which programmes fit. Update your answers
A general route, built from this career's own entry route and figures that apply to most courses. Public tuition is the published fee for the career's field; private and overseas tuition are left out.
The steps
- 1Now
Form 4 to SPM
Do well in the subjects listed above; each programme sets its own SPM minimum.
- 2After SPM
A certificate or diploma in Logistics & Supply Chain or Mechanical Engineering
At a polytechnic, community college, TVET institute or private college. This career can be reached without a degree.
- Polytechnic and community college places are applied for through the official intake portal.Source: JPPKK, polytechnic and community college intake ↗
- 3Training
Register with Jabatan Laut Malaysia (Marine Department): STCW Certificate of Proficiency (Able Seafarer Deck/Engine)
Required before you can practise.
- 4Career
Seafarer Rating (Able Seafarer Deck/Engine)
Your first job in this career.
- After SPM/SVM, join ALAM's dual-certificate ratings programme: 12 months at ALAM plus 3 months on board, ending with SKM Level 3 and an Able Seafarer Deck (or Engine) certificate. ALAM's current intake is for men aged 18–25 with good eyesight (no colour blindness) and a Marine Department medical.Source: alam.edu.my ↗
Programmes on your route
Finding programmes…
Local public, local private or overseas
A certificate or diploma at a public institution straight after SPM, then work. A degree can come later.
Degreemate's sum of the sourced figures below, not a quote from any institution. Fees change each year.
Includes an older figure. Check it with the institution.
What goes into it
- Polytechnic or community college feesRM905 – RM1,570
RM200 a semester at polytechnics and community colleges: a 2-year community college certificate (4 semesters, plus one college's RM105 one-off charge) to a 6-semester polytechnic diploma (plus one polytechnic's RM300 first-semester and RM35 later charges). Each college sets its own one-off charges.
Source: Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, registration guide, Sesi II 2025/2026 (2 Jan 2026) · confirm ↗Source: Kolej Komuniti Sabak Bernam, new student guide, Sesi II 2025/2026 (Nov 2025) · confirm ↗Source: Politeknik Kota Bharu, how long a diploma takes · confirm ↗Source: Kolej Komuniti Rompin, full-time courses FAQ · confirm ↗ - Food, transport and daily costsRM29,000 – RM59,000
UPM's estimate of USD300 to USD400 a month, excluding accommodation, about RM1,226 to RM1,635 at Bank Negara's 5 Oct 2026 rate, × 24 to 36 months (two years for a certificate, three for a diploma). It is written for international students; no Malaysian body publishes a local-student figure, and a student eating at a hostel cafeteria may spend less.
Source: UPM, Estimated study and living cost (30 Sep 2024) ↗Source: Bank Negara Malaysia, exchange rates (12:00, middle rate) (5 Oct 2026) ↗
Not included: hostel, which each polytechnic and college sets, and tools or uniforms a course asks for.
Entry requirements to plan for
- Polytechnic and community college places are applied for through the official intake portal.Source: JPPKK, polytechnic and community college intake ↗
Scholarships and sponsors to check
Leads to check, not offers. Intakes and eligibility change each year.
- PTPTN lends for diploma and degree study at public and private institutions; the amount depends on the course and family income.Source: PTPTN, Pinjaman Pendidikan (retrieved 5 Oct 2026) ↗
Before you decide
- JTM institutes (ILP, ADTEC, JMTI) charge no tuition for certificates unless you are sponsored, and RM3,000 a year for diplomas; other registration-day charges are about RM650 to RM700.Source: Jabatan Tenaga Manusia, admission guide (retrieved 9 Oct 2026) ↗
- Check that a programme is accredited on MQA's register, and recognised by the career's registering body where there is one, before you enrol.Source: MQA, Malaysian Qualifications Register ↗
If this route doesn't fit
Figures reviewed 7 Oct 2026.