WITH 10,000 jobs being created in the maritime industry each year, Caribbean youths are being encouraged by local educators and at least one government minister to “look to the sea” as they consider future education and employment opportunities.

“The sea offers attractive career opportunities for our young people,” said transport and works minister Robert Pickersgill on Friday as he addressed the gathering at the signing of an agreement between the University of Technology (Utech) and the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) to partner in the areas of engineering and technology at the CMI offices along Palisadoes Road in Kingston.

“The Baltic and International Maritime Council ISF Manpower Project (December 2005) .estimated that current world-wide shortage of 10,000 qualified officers will grow to 21,000 by the year 2011. Hence, Jamaica’s strategy has shifted towards focusing on training officers at a higher level to meet this market demand,” Pickersgill remarked.

According to the minister, the broad industry of shipping, logistics and supply chain (purchasing/procurement), account for 35 per cent of the value of global trade. He pointed out too, that Jamaica was the only place in the Caribbean, apart from Trinidad & Tobago, which offered training in the sector. As such, Pickersgill said that the island was poised to take full advantage of the opportunities.

“Jamaica can capitalise on its privileged position of not just being in the world’s top 42 ports and the region’s number one trans-shipment port, but it can become the region’s maritime training centre,” Pickersgill said.

He also urged scholars, practitioners, policy makers and educators to take notice of the benefits to be had from satisfying the demand in the maritime and logistics sectors.

Fritz Pinnock, the executive director of CMI, agreed.

“I don’t think we can establish enough land-based industries to absorb everybody. The best thing we can do is to train them, export them and let them send the money and the barrels home,” he said.

“One day they will find themselves back home,” he added.

But to date, the training component has been inadequate to meet the existing demand.

“The demand for qualified graduates exceeds the supply, which is why we are partnering with Utech,” the CMI head told the Observer on Friday.

“There is a shortage of maritime personnel. UTech trains a lot of engineers but we don’t have the land-based sites to absorb them so we’re doing a joint post-graduate diploma in Marine Engineering which will enable [graduates] to apply for jobs in the marine industry,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Utech president Professor Errol Morrison, underscored the academic and economic value of the partnership.

“What this signing heralds for tertiary education in Jamaica is of no little significance for our country,” he said, adding that the widening of programmes and the sharing of resources between Utech and the CMI would create a synergy which, ultimately, would lead to an expansion of job opportunities for Caribbean youths.

“Over 10,000 maritime officers are needed annually and this programme will satisfy this niche,” reiterated the university president.

According to the memorandum of understanding, the partnership between the two institutions will facilitate joint research initiatives, the validation of some of the CMI’s courses, the offering of joint degree courses, resource sharing, staff development and training and student and faculty exchanges.