The Lowell J. Mortimer Maritime Academy (LJMM) plans to prepare over 5,000 people for jobs in the future, according to Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, who yesterday said that he was impressed with the institution.
"What we see is an institution that is moving forward in the world," Minnis said on Tuesday after touring the institute.
"That is a great market and it is a new frontier.
"We have tourism at number one, financial sector [at number two], but we have not tapped into the shipping industry.
"All the facilities are here for training.
"The students, after completing, are well-qualified and can perform on any of the ships that are registered or ships that travel throughout the world.
"The projection here --they're hoping and they're moving aggressively in that direction -- is that they (the ships) will be able to hire well in excess of 5,000 individuals.
"Most significant, a lot of the students come from the inner city and areas that we have not basically concentrated on.
"This is a great opportunity and the students do not have a problem after completing living abroad, or on these vessels with coming back.
"And when you look at the type of income they make, great resources and income can be repatriated back to The Bahamas and that will help to grow our economy, and they will also be exposed while traveling the world on the various, different vessels.
"They're exposed to other individuals and they themselves become ambassadors of The Bahamas."
However, the owner of the institute said it is in need of more funding.
One thing it is in dire need of is a dormitory to house students from Family Islands and abroad.
"I cannot give a time on this because we need to get more income facilities on the island," said Lowell Mortimer, founder of the academy, when asked for a timeline on the dorms.
"For instance, if we can get the museum going or if we can get a restaurant as our former Prime Minister (Perry Christie) suggested, that would be an income stream.
"Then we can start considering having a dormitory facility because it's a very expensive thing to put up and maintain."
The academy's President, Dr. Brendamae Cleare, said there are also many international students who have shown interest in the institute who cannot attend because there are no living arrangements.
When asked if he believes the institute is losing money in this regard, Mortimer said, "Yes, but I think the expense of the dormitory would be more than the money we would lose.
"We would lose much more if we did build a dormitory and projected it badly.
"We would lose money if the students cannot fulfill or afford it.
"That would be another problem."
Minnis said the government will do what it can to assist the institution.

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