What’s in a Name? My Maritime Career Dilemma

In my last post on how my maritime career began. I mentioned pursuing a degree programme at the Regional Maritime University named Ports & Shipping Administration. I also said I spent my first year in the same class with the Nautical Science department colleagues. Nautical Science was then called Marine Operations, but that got changed somehow. Together with the Ports & Shipping Department and Maritime Safety Center, we formed the Maritime Studies Faculty. I had made several augments in fora as a student leader about the need to change the name of my programme from Port & Shipping Administration to something else. My year group was the first batch of students, so we were privileged to discuss these issues with leadership. It was a time of uncertainty, and everyone was open to suggestions. I had two main reasons for my arguments. First, my conviction was that the name was too specialised. Secondly, it did not fully reflect the broad knowledge we were acquiring.

In defense of my assumptions

The first argument was that many employers outside the maritime industry would overlook a CV showing the Ports & Shipping Administration. I wanted a name that would appeal to a broader market than just the maritime sector. Although I was aware of the career prospects, I did not think industry players understood our skillsets. I realised this only from a couple of internships during our studies. Also, seeing that the maritime sector in Ghana was not significant and advanced maritime services such as marine insurance were limited, I had to worry about the name of the course.

The second argument dovetails into the first. The name did not reflect the broad knowledge we were acquiring. The course was comprehensive enough to give you the tools for work in any industry. We covered similar courses that an Administration student at the University of Ghana covers. On the other hand, the programme was specialized enough to teach niche maritime subjects that many will only get at the master’s level. I recall the Director of the Maritime Authority of Sierra Leone mentioned that he changed his programme at the World Maritime University upon advice from his lecturers because he already had sufficient knowledge in his preferred programme.

Real World Experience

The name of the course was not changed and remained BSc Ports & Shipping Administration after my arguments for the authorities to settle for Maritime Studies or something like Administration with a maritime option of a sought. Luckily, I got to work in the maritime field and did not have to explain the school I attended and the course I pursued to anyone, but my wife had to do that. She followed the same course and was lucky to be accepted into the management trainee programme of Ghana’s second-largest Telecommunications company, Vodafone. She passed an online assessment and a series of interviews and was finally employed.

She told me how often she had had to explain which school and the course she pursued. Although her other colleagues had come from all manner of fields like engineering, social science etc., she was the one who got strange looks and upfront questions from supervisors about her school and course. The apparent reaction was – “Ports and Shipping? Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be finding work in the port or shipping lines? Today she hardly knows what Port or Starboard means but is a digital financial expert in the UN system with skills acquired from her roles at Vodafone Ghana.

The (un)employment Nexus

Many of my colleagues, graduates and students at the Regional Maritime University have and continue to ask the same questions of employers in the maritime sector when they struggle to find jobs or internships. Why won’t they employ us who have been trained for the maritime industry but rather choose others and spend money to teach them? I found the answers in a graduate tracer studies I did many years later. The results showed that Port & Shipping Administration graduates get employment via National Service (a compulsory 1-year service to the nation by graduates from tertiary institutions in Ghana. Graduates are posted to private companies or state institutions to serve). The second means of employment was through referrals by family and friends followed by responses to job adverts. The results, I believe, reflects the national situation.

Was I right?

Was my position on the name of the programme vindicated? I will say to a certain degree. Perhaps a higher degree during my time in school but to a lesser degree now over time. The name creates a particular impression in the minds of employers and the students who restrict their search for opportunities in the shipping and logistics industry. Unlike accounting, law, HR and other professions, employers have little idea about the content of a Port & Shipping Administration programme. Today that is changing because the first graduates who excelled in the maritime sector paved the way for others. Many are in managerial and supervisory positions now and can specifically ask the HR departments for the skills of a Ports & Shipping Administration graduate.

Moreover, the shipping and logistics industry has expanded exponentially since 2003, and many managers have taken the course at the Master’s level and can appreciate its value. I recall that an expatriate manager of one of the leading shipping companies told me that he didn’t know there was an academic training programme in Ghana, so he had plans to start one for his employees when he took office as Managing Director. Thankfully he had many graduates available to employ.

Insights from my graduate tracer studies

My graduate employment survey showed that a minority worked in other industries. The unemployed respondents indicated their frustration with how people perceive the programme they pursued outside the maritime sector. Even those who are employed told how difficult it was to change jobs. Perhaps it is a question of time, and some lucky people break through the barriers to pave the way for others. To illustrate this, I will tell you a story. We got a report from one of our graduates who work in an insurance company. He had been on the fringes of the company until the company decided to give them some training. That was the turning point in his career because it allowed him to show off his general knowledge of insurance, mainly marine insurance, which nobody else knew much about. The trainers who were from South Arica were impressed.

Do I still have reservations? Not so much at the moment. I think time is working out the details. I observe the trends and follow the exploits of graduates in diverse fields. In 2023, the programme will be 20 years old, and it will be a good time to access and review.

In my next post, I will be sharing my experience about my first job and, later, explain how I prepare the student to have a global view and the success stories that have emerged.

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