Aiming to close what it sees as a gap between academic knowledge and practical training, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has introduced a new educational programme for future seafarers.
According to BSM, the global merchant fleet will face a shortage of thousands of officers in the coming years. The education programme, named BSM Smart Academy, is a collaboration with several maritime universities and will attempt to address the shortage of skilled labour in the maritime sector, in particular at sea.
Specifically, the BSM Smart Academy provides for nautical, technical, and electrical undergraduates from participating maritime universities to take part in the programme as designated BSM cadets following the completion of their first year.
This means that they not only receive an academic education but also practical knowledge close to current industry requirements.
“We enhance the education of future seafarers by engaging with them at an earlier stage,” said Eva Rodriguez, director of marine HR at BSM.
Through collaboration with the universities, cadets will undergo comprehensive training in a controlled and realistic work environment onshore and onboard. The training will ensure a higher level of skill, and in particular, developing behavioural competencies before embarking onboard the multiculturally manned vessels.
Some of the universities affiliated with the programme are the International Maritime College in Oman, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa, the University of Transport in Ho Chi Minh City, the Batumi Navigation Teaching University in Georgia, and the Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey.
Students will also be specifically trained for the increasingly digitalised maritime work environment to prepare for future leadership roles both at sea and onshore. This will fully prepare them for their cadetship.
BSM’s partners on the education programme are located in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, with another potential partner based in South America.
In the first year, up to 100 students are to be recruited for the Smart Academy programme. The aim is to gradually expand the global partner network to open up new seafarer source markets.
