Reflections on maritime education and training in the digital era

AS THE maritime world debates the merits of remote-controlled ships and other technological advances, shipping folks gathered at Granger Bay this week for a conference to discuss maritime education and training in the digital era.

Within a decade, the conference heard, the world’s population will have grown by nearly a billion people, increasing the demand for food, energy and raw materials, and increasing the demand for ships to move grain, fuel and minerals.

The seabed is destined to be the source of some minerals other than oil and gas, necessitating the development of advanced undersea mining techniques, and specialised ships for this purpose. Indeed, even for normal trading, higher levels of technology are being introduced, and therefore, training will need to adapt to accommodate new equipment and even new modus operandi aboard ships and in harbours.

If more ships are to be operating, more seafarers will be needed to crew those ships, unless technology advances to such an extent that the number of crew members on ships can be reduced. (That in itself is an ongoing debate as seasoned salts ask pertinent questions as to who will fight an onboard fire, or how an injured crew member will be recovered from a confined space below deck, or whether there will be enough crew members to effect a rescue in a man-overboard incident.)

Although essential to ensure the smooth operation of vessels, maritime education and training need to match the systems on board ships and ashore; however, training needs to keep pace with technological advances, especially as it is difficult to predict the trends in technology. Indeed, within a decade, some jobs will be obsolete and new jobs – unheard of at present – will be available, requiring education and training programmes to ensure that students are versatile and can adapt to the rapid changes in the shipping industry.

With high unemployment rates among young South Africans, seafaring careers should be attractive. Yet, despite taxfree dollar earnings available for seafarers, attracting suitable young entrants to seagoing careers remains difficult.

Apart from competition from shoreside sectors and the apparent need for young people to maintain connectivity with others, some South African cadets have muddied the waters for others by displaying attitudes of entitlement or a poor work ethic.

As a prospective supplier of numerous seafarers, South Africa needs to understand that competition is fierce. Each year, about 18 000 additional Filipino seafarers – plus many others from eastern European and other Asian countries – become available for sea service, forcing South African training systems and cadets to justify their employment ahead of those competitors. In short, they have to good – and need to board their ships without political baggage.

As not everyone is suitable for a sea-going career and to reduce the drop-out rate among trainees – an expensive loss to those supporting training – it is imperative that the right type of people are targeted for training, and the introduction of young people to the ways of the sea – with all its jargon, its idiosyncrasies and its rigid codes of operation – should begin at an early age.

A Norwegian shipowner has begun a scheme among a rural community south of Durban whereby various programmes are presented and suitable candidates are selected for further training.

A leading figure in South African training was reported to have indicated that one million jobs could be created by the maritime sector over the next 15 years – nearly 70 000 a year. That is an extremely ambitious target, given the nature and demands of shipping, and need to ensure that the right young people – with the right attitudes, plenty of initiative and a positive bearing – are selected for training and that properly qualified and motivated trainers are available.

This dynamic sector does offer exciting and worthwhile careers at sea and ashore. Properly managed maritime education and training projects could point many youngsters in the right direction.

With high unemployment, seafaring careers should be attractive