Skills development in the maritime sector

Advancing skills development in the maritime sector

South Africa (SA) has a skills crisis that mirrors global conditions, characterised by a mismatch between the available pool of employees and market demand which has been linked to a number of factors including state of the education system. Shortages of skills and the need for skills development have been identified as a challenge in a number of industries including the maritime sector. The Human Resource Development Council SA (HRDCSA) established the Maritime Sector Skills Technical Task Team (MSSTTT) in September 2013 to investigate blockages within the maritime skills development pipeline and to propose measures that can be implemented to address those.

The maritime sector has huge potential to contribute to economic growth and development, job creation and building an inclusive society, thus addressing the triple challenges of poverty, joblessness and inequality. Boasting a coastline of around 3,000km, the country has the potential to offer enormous maritime economic opportunities. The SA maritime sector contributed about 13,6% (R55 billion) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 and according to the World Bank, about 60% of the country’s GDP is generated through trade. Even though SA is a maritime trading country, it does not currently have any ships on its registry and thus makes the country a consumer of international maritime transport which represents a significant expenditure for the country.

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