that one of the challenges to maritime pedagogy is the socio-political environment
where some countries do not invest much into educational strategies.
Further, there seems to be a lack of access to opportunities in a lot of STEM
careers and this has been considered by researchers across the board trying to figure
out why STEM careers seem not to attract more women or people of colour.
41 Data
keeps showing us that in efforts to attract diverse talent, maritime education and
pedagogy somehow still seems to exclude certain people who would otherwise have
liked to be part of the international maritime business work force. This has caused so
much anger and frustration in some career paths that it has been called selfperpetrating racism by some.
42 On the other hand some organizations are adding
to the support and skills in associations such as the Women’s International Shipping
and Trading Association (WISTA).
43 WISTA for example, has a mission to support
women in shipping at management level, so that the gender gap in those positions
can be minimized. This by the way, is happening with the help of good men and
women in the sector.
Another challenge faced by maritime pedagogy is the availability of financial
resources to support the government and other such similar bodies in making
training available and fordable. The industry cycles and a bad economy also
means that shipowners are going to be looking for more affordable, readily trained
crew rather than investing into training new entrants to the industry especially if
those come from the developing world.
There are many other challenges to maritime pedagogy not mentioned here but it
would be amiss not to mention the challenge of awareness issue. Awareness of an
industry and the requirements for serving in it is the first step in achieving pedagogical success. The truth is the shipping industry earned its reputation as an ‘invisible
industry’
44 because not many have an awareness of how it works, so that must be
dealt with first so that education efforts around the industry will be prioritized as a
matter of government policies.
People who wish to be involved in international maritime business must understand the demands, danger, finance and regimented focus it takes to succeed in the
industry. It is an industry that does not need mediocrity as a ship can quickly turn
into a watery grave, even for the most experienced therefore it is not an industry to be
taken lightly, the losses are catastrophic. There also needs to be an awareness of the
diversity of businesses and business activity of the international business world. Not
every person or entity wishing to partake in the industry needs to invest in a triple-E
Emma Maersk sized ship, there are other ways to gain commercial benefit from the
41 Rainey et al. (2018), pp. 4–14.
42 Visser (2013). In this news report an Advocate of the court called law firms racists because when
it came to shipping legal work, they made a conscious effort to avoid the particular candidate
involved.
43 WISTA.
44 George (2013), pp. 1–7.
622
F. P. Ndlovu
where some countries do not invest much into educational strategies.
Further, there seems to be a lack of access to opportunities in a lot of STEM
careers and this has been considered by researchers across the board trying to figure
out why STEM careers seem not to attract more women or people of colour.
41 Data
keeps showing us that in efforts to attract diverse talent, maritime education and
pedagogy somehow still seems to exclude certain people who would otherwise have
liked to be part of the international maritime business work force. This has caused so
much anger and frustration in some career paths that it has been called selfperpetrating racism by some.
42 On the other hand some organizations are adding
to the support and skills in associations such as the Women’s International Shipping
and Trading Association (WISTA).
43 WISTA for example, has a mission to support
women in shipping at management level, so that the gender gap in those positions
can be minimized. This by the way, is happening with the help of good men and
women in the sector.
Another challenge faced by maritime pedagogy is the availability of financial
resources to support the government and other such similar bodies in making
training available and fordable. The industry cycles and a bad economy also
means that shipowners are going to be looking for more affordable, readily trained
crew rather than investing into training new entrants to the industry especially if
those come from the developing world.
There are many other challenges to maritime pedagogy not mentioned here but it
would be amiss not to mention the challenge of awareness issue. Awareness of an
industry and the requirements for serving in it is the first step in achieving pedagogical success. The truth is the shipping industry earned its reputation as an ‘invisible
industry’
44 because not many have an awareness of how it works, so that must be
dealt with first so that education efforts around the industry will be prioritized as a
matter of government policies.
People who wish to be involved in international maritime business must understand the demands, danger, finance and regimented focus it takes to succeed in the
industry. It is an industry that does not need mediocrity as a ship can quickly turn
into a watery grave, even for the most experienced therefore it is not an industry to be
taken lightly, the losses are catastrophic. There also needs to be an awareness of the
diversity of businesses and business activity of the international business world. Not
every person or entity wishing to partake in the industry needs to invest in a triple-E
Emma Maersk sized ship, there are other ways to gain commercial benefit from the
41 Rainey et al. (2018), pp. 4–14.
42 Visser (2013). In this news report an Advocate of the court called law firms racists because when
it came to shipping legal work, they made a conscious effort to avoid the particular candidate
involved.
43 WISTA.
44 George (2013), pp. 1–7.
622
F. P. Ndlovu