The shortage of skilled maritime workers appears to have eased over the past decade, but the problem persists in some sectors and looms large in the future as a wave of retirements are expected.
The U.S. unemployment rate is hovering at 7 percent, but there are still jobs going unfilled in the maritime industry, at the entry level but more significantly among engineers. The ongoing shortage is a hot topic at conferences, in corporate boardrooms and in Congress. There are concerns about the ability to crew U.S.-flagged ships in times of war, and about the industry’s ability to staff vessels and keep waterborne transportation moving as the economy recovers from the recession.
But the problem, industry officials say, has shifted. “Three or four years ago, people were talking about a crisis, that they couldn’t man their boats,” said Thomas Allegretti, president and CEO of the American Waterways Operators. “Today they aren’t talking about that, but about the crisis tomorrow — how are we going to man our boats in the future with an aging [group of personnel in the] wheelhouse? This is still a long-term project and an ongoing need.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that employment in water transportation is expected to grow 13 percent between 2012 and 2022. This data, however, doesn’t take into account the aging workforce. The average age of maritime workers is 55, and there’s a noticeable gap of workers in the 32-42-year-old group, according to studies.
QUALIFIED workers NEEDED
“While opportunities on U.S.-flag vessels in international trades have been limited, growth in the domestic maritime industry has created employment opportunities for American mariners in numbers that have not been seen for many years,” Michael Roberts, senior vice president and legislative counsel at Crowley Maritime Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., said at a recent Maritime Administration (Marad) symposium on the future of the U.S. merchant fleet. “The challenge now is filling those jobs with qualified, licensed personnel.”
The U.S. commercial towing sector is actively courting workers. Maritime publications carry numerous want ads and just about every corporate website has an employment/careers page touting the advantages of joining their company.
“All we ask is for a little hard work and a willingness to learn,” it says on Kirby Corp.’s careers website. The Houston-based tank barge operator’s jobs site says that just 18 months after entry, a person can be eligible to apply for the company’s Wheelhouse Apprentice Mate program. “With an additional 18 months of work, you can become a mate (pilot) of a towing vessel and earn over $100,000 a year!”
There are many reasons for the tight labor market. The growing offshore energy sector has wooed many away from the towing vessel industry with higher wages. There’s been a high turnover in entry level positions, which creates a gap when older workers retire. Hiring is hampered by a lack of knowledge about opportunities in the inland sector, especially among younger people and those leaving the military. And state and federal maritime academies, traditionally a good source of licensed officers for bluewater vessels, have just recently begun to add brownwater courses and encourage their licensed officer graduates to consider careers on tugs and towboats.
Perhaps the biggest factor has been changes in mariner training requirements, specifically those under the International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), which has placed new demands on companies and workers.
In 2002, the Coast Guard implemented new licensing regulations, tripling the amount of training time needed for mariners (4.5 years) for a licensed officer on a tugboat. By 2005, a shortage was noticeable.
“Technical demands on mariners are much higher today than a few years ago,” said Roberts of Crowley. “We are building the most sophisticated tugs and workboats in history, and need people who are well qualified to run them.”
The challenges facing industry recruitment are many. During the recent Marad symposium participants voiced a long list of impediments to entry into the industry and retaining workers. They cited public ignorance about maritime jobs, burdensome and expensive regulations and credential requirements such as TWIC, dangers inherent in the work, increasing criminal liability for mariners involved in accidents, increased training requirements, and a harsh lifestyle that includes long periods away from home.
INCENTIVES
The inland industry is being proactive. Companies have created in-house training programs for new recruits and those that want to move up and become officers, and they offer tuition assistance for off-site training. Many companies have donated old vessels or money for simulators to maritime schools, and advise state and federal maritime academies on courses about inland navigation. And many have become more politically active, urging state legislatures to revise educational standards that embrace vocational pathways for non-college-bound students.
Companies are also attending career days at high schools and maritime training institutes, recruiting at state and federal military academies, attending job fairs for veterans, and are talking up careers to anyone who will listen.
Walter E. Blessey Jr., chairman and CEO of Blessey Marine Services in Harahan, La., said during a recent WorkBoat.com webinar that he convinced his caddy during a round of golf to join his company.
Operators are also increasing salaries, improving benefit packages, promising job security and interesting adventures, and building more comfortable and technologically advanced boats. New boats now have better living quarters, and Wi-Fi access and TV lounges are now standard. Ingram Barge in Nashville, Tenn., for example, said the wheelhouse “provides some of the most advanced equipment on towboats today, including satellite communications, personal computers, state-of-the-art radar, navigation systems, radio and engine control systems.”
The emphasis is on careers, not jobs, according to Mark Knoy, president and CEO, American Commercial Lines, Jeffersonville, Ind. “We’re not hiring a deckhand, but a future engineer,” he said. Companies have realized “that you must pay enough to make it attractive. Wages have increased significantly enough to attract quality people. We are hiring college graduates.”
Recruiting tactics have evolved, he said, and the industry is doing a much better job of selling itself. “A decade ago, people were looking for warm bodies. Today we’re looking for talents. We want people who want to spend a career here.”
ACL is also improving its benefits packages and beefing up onboard comforts on vessels. Paying for training, TWIC cards and credential renewals also helps retain employees, Knoy said.
The improvements seem to be paying off. “We aren’t really having any problems recruiting, hiring and training personnel,” Knoy said. “It’s a great industry that has a lot of potential and rewards.”
Others agree.
“Some years ago, there was a lull when we were really struggling to get people into the industry,” Blessey said. “Young people just didn’t want to come in the industry. I think that’s changed a bit now. We have a lot more success in attracting young folks. It could be because the money has gone up. Back then, a captain made in the $60,000s, now he’s making in the $100,000s.” Blessey said his company is now at the point that “we’re building our future with young folks and training them to be the second generation at Blessey Marine.”
Blessey said they have been hiring college graduates who can’t find work in their fields of study. “This is good for us because we are seeing a more educated person, but it’s sad that they have wasted four years and some debt paying to go to college and are now doing what they could have done four or five years sooner (without the degree) and they would already have been in the wheelhouse.”
Matt Woodruff, director, government affairs at Kirby, said his company offers a comprehensive training program from entry level up to captain, and that this and other incentives are attracting workers. The challenge is in the long term, he said, creating educational policies at the state level that create pathways for students into vocational training and not just college prep. Some have complained that the college-prep trend contributed to the labor shortage since most maritime positions didn’t require college degrees.
Now the pendulum seems to be swinging in the other direction, at least in Texas.
“We don’t need someone who is a college grad or has taken advanced math in high school,” Woodruff said during the WorkBoat.com webinar. “But we do need someone who understands basic algebra and can calculate an ETA and things of that sort. I’m pleased in Texas that we’re seeing schools get away from the theory that every child must be prepared for a four-year college. This recognizes that there are great career opportunities for those who choose the vocational and trade careers.”
