Basically he's worked for the shipyards all his career? For many SGians, moving on to the client side, or the client's client side, is very difficult.

HSE officer is not really a good career path in my opinion. I worked in a shipyard for 2 years too and frequently interacted with them to get my PTWs signed. They have good knowledge of legal frameworks and regulations related to HSE but superficial knowledge of the actual industry which their employer is specialised in.

I don't know what qualifications he has, but if he is a registered WSHO, he could consider a site surveyor job with MOM? That way, he can still apply whatever skill set he has learnt. Otherwise, he might need to start from the bottom if he intends to go into another unrelated and hands on field. Oh, don't go to the construction industry. My ex-senior colleague who got her WSHO paper told me the industry is loaded with Bangla HSE officers and well...you get the idea (quality, salary, blah blah).

MBA is a highly competitive postgrad course to get into (depending on name and prestige of the awarding institute), and your friend should know that employers are more interested at his track record than his MBA. The paper only serves to support your job candidacy; it is not sufficient as an isolated qualification.