Last year, in this same segment, I opined that advances in technology that are driving changes in the maritime industry are the greatest challenge for maritime universities and that we must work with the maritime industry to address training needs for the future workforce. I believe this remains a challenge in 2019.
As we attempt to ensure our graduates keep up with the changes in technology and regulations, we must not lose sight of the fundamentals of seamanship, navigation, marine engineering, safety, and security that licensed officers are expected to demonstrate. To do this successfully, we must work closely with ship operators, owners, and unions to ensure that we are producing graduates with the skill sets they expect. We need to establish feedback mechanisms that provide us with actionable data from which we can adjust our curricula and assessments of knowledge, understanding, and proficiency (KUPs). While STCW and national regulations provide the minimum requirements, they are not enough.
There have been calls by organizations such as the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) for a comprehensive review of the STCW convention. As ICS Chairman Esben Poulsson pointed out in a conference in November in Manila, new technology is changing the functions that seafarers perform on ships and the skills and training they require. The US Coast Guard has stood up a working group to review the question bank for the Coast Guard license examination to ensure it is more reflective of the skill sets required by third mates and third assistant engineers.
However, maritime academies cannot wait for a new convention or national authorities to change the standards and regulations and modify examinations and processes. We must work with industry to identify current and future skill gaps, and become more agile in adapting our curricula and training to address these gaps.