What should be the future of training in Shipping ?
It is undeniable that the Covid-19 pandemic has utterly disrupted the traditional education systems. A transition in the shipping industry from the conventional classroom ways of teaching to digital ones is currently taking place, something that will continue to develop
throughout this century. Continuous learning is an integral part of the process since it often leads to a raise or a higher starting salary at a new position in shipping. This sector is an ever-evolving industry and inextricably linked to technological innovation. Automation and virtual reality (VR) are additional areas that we need to focus on and integrate in our courses in combination with our conviction that training should last a lifetime and continuously adjust to new innovations. It is also of extreme significance to develop distance education and nurture a classroom community while also freeing up time, space, and money for the participants.
With over 30 years of experience in maritime training and education, I understand what each sector requires and what maritime professionals need to know, do, and deliver to succeed in their careers. They not only need to adjust to technological changes, but they also need to prove their competence and qualifications to third parties. In addition to the above areas that need to be seriously implemented for the future of maritime training, there is one underlying weakness that supersedes all the above. How does one create that balance between ‘hard and soft’ skills to close the training gap between compliance and competence?
Areas such as leadership training, critical thinking, coordination and organization, social perspectives, decision making and sound judgment, active listening and effective communication – this is what we have to think about. How can we collectively as an industry create a process of maritime training and assessment to improve skills, knowledge necessary to keep in pace with digital changes and improve overall desired behaviors?
It seems we have much to work on in the future!
* Founder & Managing Director QMS Maritime Training Center Piraeus, Greece
The answer was provided for NAFS magazine issue 143 in its special report “WOMEN in SHEPPING”