Three young people will spend six weeks moving through three parts of the maritime chain: a shipping company, a port and one of the carrier’s customers. The programme is modest in scale, but it addresses a wider Caribbean challenge—how to attract new talent to an industry that many young people rarely see or understand.
Ships carry much of what Caribbean households and businesses consume, yet the people and processes behind those movements remain largely invisible to younger generations.
That disconnect was one of the issues raised during the 29th Annual General Meeting of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean in Paramaribo, where Tamarah Lowe-James, Island Manager for Antigua and Barbuda at Tropical Shipping, presented the Maritime Apprenticeship Program developed by Tropical Shipping and PMAC.
The model is deliberately simple. Three apprentices aged between 18 and 21 spend:
- two weeks with the shipping company;
- two weeks inside the port environment;
- and two weeks with a customer.
Rather than introducing participants to a single job, the rotation is designed to show how the different parts of the maritime and logistics chain depend on one another.
The programme may be small, but its structure raises a useful question for Caribbean ports: can a short period of direct exposure help make maritime careers more visible—and create a stronger pathway towards the industry?
Following the cargo across the chain
A conventional placement can leave a young participant observing one department without understanding how it fits into the wider operation.
The six-week model attempts to avoid that limitation.
Time with the shipping company introduces the commercial and organisational side of moving cargo. The port placement brings participants closer to terminal operations, safety requirements and the physical handling of goods. The customer rotation completes the picture by showing where the shipment is going and why reliability matters beyond the port gate.
This progression gives apprentices what Lowe-James described as a “360-degree view” of the maritime industry.
For ports and shipping companies, that broader perspective matters. Maritime operations increasingly require people who can understand connections between vessel schedules, terminal activity, documentation, customer needs and inland logistics—not only the task performed within a single organisation.
The initiative therefore has value beyond career promotion. It introduces systems thinking at an early stage.
Making an invisible industry visible
Before selecting its apprentices, the programme conducts outreach in schools and colleges.
The objective is first to explain how the maritime industry works, where imported goods come from and what kinds of careers exist around shipping and ports. Lowe-James noted that some young people have little understanding of how products reach their islands or of the range of professions involved in that process.
That lack of visibility can weaken recruitment long before employers begin advertising vacancies.
A student may know about careers in law, healthcare, tourism or finance while remaining unaware of opportunities in terminal operations, vessel services, freight forwarding, customs, logistics technology, engineering or maritime administration.
Ports cannot expect young people to choose careers they have never encountered.
The apprenticeship programme responds by combining early awareness with practical exposure. The 2026 cohort is expected to tour the MV Dawn, meet industry professionals and take part in a session involving the Caribbean Maritime University, giving participants a clearer view of both employment and further study options. They will also speak with apprentices from the previous year about their experience.
Interest from young women stands out
The programme had already selected its three apprentices when it was presented in Paramaribo.
The 2026 group comprises two young women and one young man. According to Lowe-James, women represented approximately 80% of the applications received for this year’s cohort. The previous group consisted of two young men and one young woman.
That figure is noteworthy, particularly in an industry where several operational and seagoing occupations have traditionally been perceived as male-dominated.
It should not, however, be treated as evidence of a region-wide shift. The available source does not state the total number of applications, and the result relates to one recruitment exercise for a three-person programme.
What it does show is that young women are willing to apply when maritime opportunities are actively explained and made accessible.
The challenge is ensuring that this initial interest can lead to training, recognised qualifications and genuine employment pathways.
Access also means addressing practical barriers
The presentation offered another important lesson: selecting young people is only the beginning.
Lowe-James described how a participant in the previous programme required adjustments relating to religious observance and appropriate clothing for work in the port environment. The organisers also discovered that the young woman did not possess the government-issued identification needed to complete certain basic administrative and financial procedures.
These details may appear peripheral to maritime training, but they reveal why youth-access programmes often require more support than employers initially expect.
A participant can be motivated and capable while still facing barriers involving:
- identification documents;
- transport or geography;
- suitable work clothing;
- religious commitments;
- access to banking;
- or unfamiliarity with workplace procedures.
Lowe-James’s response was that these difficulties were part of the work the programme had accepted: helping young people navigate entry into professional life rather than excluding them when complications appeared.
That approach is significant. Recruitment programmes risk selecting only candidates who are already equipped to enter the workplace smoothly. A genuine talent-development initiative must also consider those whose potential is clear but whose circumstances require additional guidance.
Exposure is useful, but it is not yet a workforce strategy
The programme’s limits should also be recognised.
Three participants and six weeks cannot resolve the Caribbean maritime sector’s recruitment and skills challenges. The available information does not establish whether the programme leads to a formal qualification, guaranteed employment or a longer apprenticeship contract.
Nor does it provide measurable outcomes from the previous cohort, such as:
- employment secured;
- enrolment in maritime studies;
- qualifications pursued;
- or continued engagement with the sector.
The initiative should therefore be understood as an entry point rather than a complete training pathway.
Its immediate value lies in awareness, orientation and contact with the industry. Its long-term value will depend on what happens after the six weeks.
That could include mentoring, internships, scholarships, vocational training, university pathways or recruitment into port and shipping organisations. Without those next steps, even a well-designed exposure programme may create interest without giving participants a practical route forward.
A model that could travel across the Caribbean
Lowe-James expressed the hope that other islands would eventually adopt or participate in the programme, while acknowledging that expansion would be gradual.
“It’s not a quick fix.”
That caution is appropriate. Replicating the model would require participating ports, shipping companies, customers, schools and training institutions to coordinate placements and supervision. Smaller organisations may also need support to provide equipment, staff time and structured learning activities.
Yet the basic format is adaptable.
Every participating territory could expose apprentices to the same three perspectives—carrier, port and customer—while adjusting the content to local industries, infrastructure and skills needs.
During the discussion, PMAC Chairman Darwin Telemaque connected the initiative to a broader recruitment concern, noting that cruise operators had reported difficulties finding Caribbean candidates interested in working at sea. He presented early exposure as one way to generate interest in opportunities that regional workers may otherwise overlook.
The Caribbean maritime industry will not secure its future workforce through conference discussions alone. Young people need to see the industry, understand how it functions and recognise a place for themselves within it.
Three apprentices over six weeks will not transform regional employment. But the programme tests a practical principle: before the maritime sector can recruit the next generation, it must first open the chain and show them where they could belong.
