Karigithu says cost of maritime courses locks out youth from jobs

Special Envoy Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Ambassador, Dr Nancy Karigithu. [Robert Menza, Standard]

Thousands of youths are missing out on maritime jobs due to the high cost of training, Kenya's special envoy for maritime and blue economy Nancy Karigithu, has said.

Dr Karigithu noted that demand for workers in the shipping industry worldwide has shot up, putting pressure on quality training on the changing technology and trends in the sector.

Data from Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), shows that Kenyan seafarers placed onboard ships since 2021 stand at 350 with 2,700 recruited between 2023 and 2024.

KMA has 1,1000 seafarers in its register. Seafarers have complained about the high fees for the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping course. The 10-day course goes for Sh35,000.

Karigithu said the cost was too high for most seafarers, who are generally poor.

“When we started mass recruitment in Kenya a few years ago, one of the things that caused me sleepless nights was the discrimination that underpinned the whole exercise. While our recruitment targeted the hospitality industry, the embarkation costs remain astronomical,” she said.

She criticized the global reduction in funds for seafarer training, with 56 per cent of the cost borne by the families.

The envoy called for youth to be introduced to the maritime world through programmes like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), adopt-a-ship, and elementary education curriculum.

Karigithu argued that “catching them younger” will help attract the best talent into shipping by building character and creating world citizens.

She was speaking during the third blue economy conference by the Dar es Maritime Institute and Regional Maritime University, Ghana, at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Speaking separately, KMA chairman Hamisi Mwaguya revealed plans to launch a maritime cadet-ship programme in collaboration with the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) to support Kenyans attain sea time experience.

"Under the authority’s Vijana Baharia project, we also continue to avail funding to seafarers through Helb and also are in the process of making arrangements for the issuance of the Seafarers Identity Document to Kenyan seafarers to facilitate their transit and transfer in ports," he said.

KMA Director General Martin Munga said the employment of Kenyan seafarers would increase foreign exchange earnings, boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and help achieve the Big Four Agenda.

On gender, Karigithu noted that out of the 1.89 million seafarers globally, only 24,059 are women and regretted that efforts to address equality have been slow in the maritime industry.

She emphasized the need to intentionally improve women's representation in the sector through mentorship and increasing the talent pool among females due to an anticipated shortage of 89,000 officers in the next three years.

“I look forward to the day it will be possible for a Danish Shipping Company to have all the crew on its tanker from Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana,” she said.

The envoy urged seafarers to acquire competencies and skills to cope with the latest demands for the maritime industry to decarbonise.

“Seafarers will need to acquire new competencies and skills to keep pace with the latest technologies and operational procedures associated with this transition, for example, training on how to overcome the challenges and adaptation to new technologies, understanding of and compliance with new regulatory changes,” she said.