Pathways into ship operations and beyond

Attracting high performing school-leavers to the shipping industry as trainee officers is critical to the future of the wider maritime industry. The industry has to portray itself as an Industry of Choice (IoC) to the new generation of school-leavers. This is not an easy task at a time when the industry is suffering from an image problem. However, a formal career pathway which extends beyond a career at sea may be attractive to the young generation and their parents alike. All stakeholders of the wider maritime industry should pool their resources to create pathways cutting across all sectors which will steer a trainee ships officer through to senior managerial positions ashore within a reasonable timeframe. This paper explores the education and training opportunities which could be made available to the maritime industry through the university system.