FACTORS INFLUENCING MARITIME EDUCATION AND TRAINING GLOBALLY
4.8 IMAGE
abroad, commercial presence, and the presence of international people within the internationalization context of split-site education, localization of human capital, support from the partner university, and degree-awarding agreement (Lobrigo and Pawlik, 2014:13).
The internationalization initiative of Bruas for the MET study programme considers internal integration by having it aligned with the relevant agenda of the institution. This is essential in eliminating the hurdles of necessarily adjusting the study programme curricula and changing the medium of instruction of the study courses to meet the demands of the international student market.
While external collaboration and network with MET centres abroad is still in a significant process of being established, engaging academic foundations such as the DAAD makes it possible already to have a certain level of international exchanges of lecturers and students. As at any MET centre, Bruas must resolve the financing issues involved for the internationalization initiatives to work.
While the financing issues may be challenging, and must be studied further, exploring sources of scholarships and bursaries is an indispensable part of MET programme internationalization.
There is thus the need to create an image of the maritime profession in which career possibilities are not seen as being restricted to work at sea, if such is achived this can perhaps increase the attractiveness of MET to the youth (Lobrigo and Pawlik, 2012). In spite of this, the maritime labour supply condition limits opportunities ashore, as ship’s officers are at present more needed at sea.
An impression must be created that pursuing a MET does not restrict the professional to a sea career. The field can also attractive to young people if they have the knowledge that there are relevant opportunities ashore after attaining seafaring experience, according to Lobrigo and Pawlik (2012). Thus, there are numerous causes for poor retention in the maritime industry, for example, among seafarers, the key factors are identified by Mack (2007) and Mitroussi (2008). These researchers indicate that ship’s officers (junior seafarers-level) who hold sea-going jobs which are in most demand move to shore-based jobs. Such motives are further expanded by Barnett et al.
(2006), which are:
“A lack of opportunities for career progression at sea, the need for young officers to start or build a family, the sudden emergence of landside opportunities and poor working conditions on-board (influenced by increased workload, stress, loneliness, isolation and cultural diversities)” (Caesar, Cahoon and Fei, 2014:16).
However, Caesar, Cahoon and Fei (2014), in their study looking to synthesise factors that considerably influence seafarer retention, identify:
(a) Poor HR practices of employers. For example, based on ethnic background or geographic origin, employers in the shipping industry tend to stratify their employees. This, to a great extent, influences staff promotion on board ships, with some nationalities having superiority over others (Lane, 2002 and Wu, 2004);
(b) Generational issues. For example, between the younger and older generations there are variances in the level of prospects in pursuing a maritime vocation, with specific reference to the seafaring industry (Cahoon and Haugstetter, 2008). This is asserted by Mack (2007), who reflects that many of the older generation seafarers point out that they were attracted into seafaring by the aspiration for adventure. This was owing to tales they heard told to them by their forefathers about foreign lands. However, Horck (2010) believes that, to date, ship-owners cannot rely upon this element of adventure which has humorously transformed into a biased phenomenon for retaining
crew. Gone are the times when seafaring was seen as a life-time profession: the ambition of the younger cohort of seafarers differs from their predecessors. As a result, the need for maritime employers to seriously examine such factors and address them is essential to decreasing the early exit of seafarers to land (Caesar, Cahoon and Fei, 2014);
(c) Increased demand from landside. There are countless shore-based positions that seafarers hold as they move onshore from the offshore (sea-going) sector of the maritime industry (Barnett et al., 2006).
Caesar, Cahoon and Fei (2014) assert that:
“The increased demand for the expertise of ship officers and other categories of seafarers among landside employers is given further impetus by the relatively high remuneration rates being offered for the positions” (Caesar, Cahoon and Fei, 2014:6).
(d) Peculiar nature of seafaring career. The shipping environment, when at sea, is not conducive to marital/family relationships. For this reason it is problematic to retain seafarers to work on board ship (Thomas et al., 2003; De Silva et al., 2011). The parting from spouse/partner and family is cited as the most common reason for seeking a shore-based job Barnett et al. (2006). This promotes Forsyth’s (1990) view that what expressly influences seafarers’ decision to reduce years spent at sea, is having a partner and/or family; their home life dictates satisfaction with a job at sea.
At MET institutional level, Jensen et al.’s study (2013) examined the image of shipping among upper secondary school pupils in Sweden, Norway, and Greece. The study found that young people, generally, have a positive image of the shipping industry; however, this was stronger in Norway than in Greece and Sweden. According to Jensen et al. (2013), such knowledge gained from their study is pivotal because constructive strategies derived from the research can assist in promoting careers in the shipping industry, and adapting shipping to educational programmes. The future supply of maritime personnel with the necessary industry-specific qualifications is of particular concern in the shipping industry (Bakka, 2007; Grewal and Haugstetter, 2007; Bakka, 2008; Ng, Koo and Ho, 2009). Cross (2010) notes that:
“Sometimes multi - cultural crew and the overall decreasing esteem of the profession makes it difficult in the western countries, to continue to interest the new generations” (Cross,
To attract youth, various strategies have been created and launched in the maritime industry over the years (Cross, 2010). According to Urkmez (2005), cited in Ziarati, Demire and Albayrak (2010:9), an argument for rising the number of non-EU seafarers of different ranks on European flag ships is that the youth in developed countries do not find the seafaring vocation attractive.
There is a poor image of a seafaring career, according to Cross (2010), who finds it that in Western countries people are sufficiently wealthy not to go to sea if there is no financial need to do so.
According to Cross (2010:3), these “circumstances are related to western oriented societies, there is no doubt that in maritime developing countries these situations and attitudes will also develop, as the standard of living, in that country, rises.” This is pointed out by Lobrigo and Pawlik (2012) in Brazil, who add that “the importance of financial and economic factors validates the speculation that the seafaring career might lose its attractiveness as soon as the wage level declines, or as soon as any shore-based profession becomes more lucrative” (Lobrigo and Pawlik, 2012:16).
Improving the image of seafarers and their retention requires multiple approaches, according to Caesar, Cahoon and Fei (2014). Funding of training and skills development, and improving of welfare and working conditions are the most common approaches, as well as mapping out a long- term career plan for seafarers (Watchkeeper, 2003; Wiseman, 2004; Bajpaee, 2005; Holder, 2005;
and Horck, 2005).
To develop a sustainable maritime human resources, scholars such as Zade (2003) have long maintained that what needs to be dealt with globally, is the evolving societal perception directed at maritime vocations such as seafaring by the youth. In highlighting this, countries in both the developed and developing world, including Kenya, embarked on intensive awareness campaigns among stakeholders such as high schools and the public in general, to shift negative beliefs about the maritime profession, and make it attractive (Mabuti, 2013).