Development of Maritime Competencies

Trinidad and Tobago is an energy rich country. Its energy sector accounts for more than 44% of
GDP, 58% of government revenues and 83% of exports (Ewart S Williams 2013). With the
increase in energy demands there has been significant increase in offshore and maritime
activity round the nautical coast of Trinidad and Tobago.

Maritime Industry development Committee (MIDC) was established to oversee the
implementation of strategic plan and at same time updating it to changing global
circumstances. Global insight and Maritime Logistics & Trade Consulting prepared a report
Domestic maritime Industry in the development of Business Plans for key maritime clusters
(February 2008:p.4) with an objective to develop a world class maritime cluster leveraging on
local success and favourable geographical location, while at same time building core maritime
competencies for the future.

The shipping industry is very competitive but highly regulated, requires considerable capital
investment, technology and training requirements. A maritime hub is developing in Trinidad.
However, dearth of qualified and competent staff is one major challenge. Further there are no
facilities available in wider Caribbean to fulfil the new training needs as per latest requirements.
As shipping industry is also mobile, it is relatively easy to change routes or operational bases
based on cost and other advantages, such as easy availability and access to trained &
competent seafarers.

As a Maritime campus of university of Trinidad and Tobago we are developing various training
programs as per latest International Maritime Organization (IMO). As all our courses are
audited and approved by Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) UK, we will be the first
institute to offer this quality training in whole wider Caribbean. This will certainly provide an
opportunity for local shipping companies to use our resources for training and up gradation to
latest certification for which they had to send their staff earlier to UK.

As an organization we need to develop a strategic plan with close liaison among our Academic
& Research staff, Business Development & Marketing unit and Finance. This is important so as
we can offer our training products against other similar institutes in UK, which at present are
preferred destination for maritime training needs. Quality training at an attractive price will not
only attract training needs of wider Caribbean but also provide us an opportunity to capture
fertile market across whole South America and even Asia. Relaxed visa requirements and good
weather to enjoy throughout the year gives our location further advantages on UK. We have
running programmes for graduation and post-graduation in maritime operations to fulfil shore
based sector needs which is also majorly dependent on energy sector and related maritime
activities.

Modules of Managing Energy Sources and Economics of Oil, Gas and Energy learned during this
program will certainly give me better insight of energy sector and improve my understanding of
unique challenges, opportunities and sector influences. Managing energy resources module
does not restrict itself to Oil and Gas, but goes on to discuss aspects of renewable sources of
energy in relation to fossils. This is an important aspect for development of any energy policy in
future.

MSc in International Management (Oil and Gas) will positively affect my environment at work.
Master's from University of Liverpool will provide me with growth opportunities within the
University of Trinidad and Tobago and T&T as an oil and gas state. It will also help me to
develop myself into a better skilled professional based on academic research.

Reference List

Ewart S Williams (Thursday 4 April 2013) Has T & T avoided the resource curse paradox?
[Online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2013-04-04/has-tt-
avoided-resource-curse-paradox. [Accessed 27 June 2013].

Global insight and Maritime Logistics & Trade Consulting (2008) Consultancy Services for the
Domestic Maritime Industry in the Development of Business Plans for Key Maritime Clusters.