Sustainable Maritime Career Development: A case for Maritime Education and Training (MET) at the Secondary Level

This study interrogated the relevance of maritime education and training (MET) at the secondary level as an effective strategy for developing a sustainable supply of maritime labour and to mitigate current and future supply-demand imbalances arising from philosophical and sociological changes in society and in the maritime industry. Secondary education and its associated curriculum may be developed to form the underlying fundamentals of early awareness of maritime concepts targeted at youth of ages 11-18 years. To find answers to five research questions relating to this topic, a mixed method approach was applied in collecting and analysing data. The findings indicate strong evidence of the importance and relevance of MET at the secondary level. They further show this importance as it relates to an appreciation by the youth of the maritime industry as a domain for technical career options and to the creation of a sense of stewardship of the world's oceans. Despite these positive findings, the study also finds that a number of key stakeholders are unaware of the potential and role of the maritime industry leading to a notable barrier to the implementation of MET at the secondary level and a lack of the necessary rigour and focus on promoting the industry to the youth via MET in secondary education. The study concludes by noting that there is a need for a focus on reforming the curricula of national secondary education system, where appropriate, as a first step towards the achieving the benefits of implementation of MET at the secondary level.