A new platform has just hit the jobs market in the Caribbean which could change how maritime jobs are pursued and acquired in the region.

The ACMF-CAREX, a jobs platform for the maritime sector was launched by the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation (ACMF) recently.  

First on board are over 200 maritime graduates and soon-to-be-graduands from across the region who trained at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), the LJM Maritime Academy in The Bahamas, and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

The first of its kind exclusively for the Caribbean, the jobs board www.acmf-carex.org is only accessible to employees in the region. Job seekers living outside of the Caribbean are not able to register on the site.  However, prospective employers anywhere in the world can register and will have full access to the qualified workers profiled on the site who are looking for job opportunities. 

“This step is important for us”, explained Dr Geneive Brown Metzger, ACMF president, who noted that “After making an investment in educating young people, helping to place them in jobs was the logical next step.  Although the maritime space is global, accessing information about job opportunities in the region and overseas can be a challenge.”

Commenting further, Dr Metzger, said, “We hope the jobs board will be a game-changer in the job search process.”

As for the types of jobs that Caribbean nationals are trained to do at Caribbean institutions, they cover the gamut from cadets to robotics engineers, including positions at sea and on land.  The 1.89 million people currently employed at sea in the maritime industry is only half of the number of employees in the field. Shore-based workers and professionals, such as engineers, logisticians, port managers, truckers, hospitality workers, supply chain managers, customs clerks double that number.  

The ACMF awarded a laptop to one lucky winner from among the attendees who were registered on the site, Shamoy Hudson, final year student at the CMU where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Customs Processes, Freight Forwarding, and Immigration.  This is just one of the 38 devices that the ACMF donated to the CMU to help address the challenges students were having with remote study.  

Royal Caribbean International is doing its part to meet the projected shortfall of workers in the industry, including 90,000 officers, by 2026.  In its partnership with the ACMF, Royal has committed to “hiring cadets and help guide them so they can become captains on Royal’s ships, 

which is the way it should be”, said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International.  Royal recently hired two ACMF scholars as 2nd officers.  

A model for growth

The Philippines is the world’s dominant force in providing maritime workers, providing more than 30 per cent of the global maritime workforce, followed by China. 

The question is, why can’t the Caribbean become a major source of workers for the global maritime industry?  

That was the question asked by Geneive Brown Metzger which led her to establish the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation in 2016, a US-based non-profit, focused on raising up a cadre of Caribbean maritime workers for the global market.  

Dr Brown Metzger serves as president and executive director of the foundation.

“The Caribbean can do what the Philippines is doing, and we have the support of several of the shipping lines that operate their business in the region.  We plan to create a paradigm shift in the maritime job search process in the Caribbean”, she continued.  

Five years in, the ACMF that began with five scholarships in 2017 at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), has now funded Bachelors and Bachelors of Science for almost 70 scholars and grantees at four academic institutions across the Caribbean—the CMU, LJM Maritime Academy in The Bahamas, MatPal in Guyana, and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.   

As for the types of jobs that Caribbean nationals are trained to do at these institutions, they cover the gamut from cadets to robotics engineers, customs officers, port managers, at sea and shoreside.  Among the internationally accredited maritime training institutions in North America is the Caribbean Maritime University, whose credentials include accreditation from the International Standards Organization and Accreditation Service for International Colleges for all its programs.

Alleviating poverty

The jobs and livelihoods of billions of people in the developing world, and standards of living in the industrialised and developed world, depend on ships and shipping, which is responsible for the carriage of around 90 per cent of world trade.  Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy. 

The industry has played an important part in the dramatic improvements in global living standards that have taken millions of people out of acute poverty in recent years.  It will be just as critical for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to the United Nations.  

ACMF has tied its mission to a broader regional goal beyond the maritime industry to alleviating poverty and addressing gender equity disparities in the maritime sector.

The ACMF seeks out student beneficiaries who see themselves as transformational agents for their families.  

“We also ensure that women get the support they need by awarding at least 50 per cent of our scholarships to them,” said Dr Brown Metzger.  

ACMF scholarships have often been the only chance to find the funding to complete a degree or to continue studying, particularly during the pandemic where family incomes dropped when parents lost jobs.  Donations of laptops to students who were struggling to do class assignments on mobile phones also met a critical need and kept students on track.  

“The work of the foundation has never been more critical than now when already financially challenged students are struggling to continue their education online, due to the global health crisis.  

About the ACMF

The American Caribbean Maritime Foundation is a non-profit organisation committed to alleviating poverty and transforming through maritime education and community development. The ACMF currently supports 71 scholarship recipients and grantees from Jamaica, Trinidad, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Guyana, The Bahamas, and Dominica.

The foundation also funded a lecture theatre in the name of one of its donors, Roland Malins-Smith.  The ACMF hosts the annual Anchor Awards, honouring leaders in the maritime industry who have made a significant contribution to the development of the maritime sector in the Caribbean.  

The ACMF receives no government funding and is entirely supported by private donations from corporate sponsors and individuals, including Royal Caribbean International, Tropical Shipping, Nassau Cruise Port, MSC Cruises, Saltchuk Logistics, TOTE Marine, DP World/Integra Marine, to name a few.  

To date, the ACMF has awarded almost US$750,000 to fund its scholars and grantees.  The organisation was founded by Dr Geneive Brown Metzger, who served as Jamaica’s eighth Consul General in New York.