Campbell Shipping committed to maritime careers

Tue, Jul 19th 2011, 11:01 AM

A cadre of 153 junior high students moved a step closer to a career in the maritime industry, where employment opportunities for properly trained Bahamians abound.  The Campbell Shipping Company (CSC) Maritime Summer Camp wrapped up on Friday, July 15, with 102 eighth and ninth graders from Nassau and 53 from Freeport gaining exposure to the theoretical and practical components of the marine and maritime disciplines.  Bahamians are absent from the decks and engineering rooms of many ships due to a lack of certification and knowledge of the opportunities in the industry, though CSC's managing director says the jobs are there, for those who are properly prepared for them.

"If more Bahamians were certified, and this industry being worldwide and not limited to just The Bahamas alone, the jobs would be limitless," Chandler Sands told Guardian Business yesterday.  "Meaning that the certified persons would be an employee of the world, if properly certified, and their skills will be sought after."

The Nassau-based students had their commencement exercise at the home of the summer camp, The College of The Bahamas, on Friday.  The camp's goals go beyond informing students about career opportunities in the maritime sector, but also include teaching problem solving, time management and study skills.  According to Sands, the company saw it as a constructive activity for young persons that could help employ Bahamians in the future.

"We recognize that our students of today will be our leaders of tomorrow," Sands said.  "With the current job market being in this position we must find new ways of job creation.  We at Campbell Shipping believe that if we pool our resources into a summer camp for the youth it will not only create opportunities but it will also give them a positive outlet."

The junior high students were targeted because many students in those grades are still deciding what career path they want to pursue, according to the company.  The camp has been operational for three years, and its first participants are now in their senior year of high school, many of them now in the Bahamas Maritime Cadet Core program.

Campbell Shipping is pressing to get the message out about the maritime career opportunities that exist throughout the education system.  CSC is planning a teachers aid program to reach a broad swath of students throughout the system.

"Campbell Shipping will be having a teachers aid program, where every school in The Bahamas will be visited to introduce students from grades one through nine to information about the world of maritime," said Norman Lightbourne, marketing manager at Campbell Shipping.

"The students will be reached by various methods based on an age range, from storytelling to video stimulations.  Campbell Shipping is also supporting a bachelors program in marine operations.  This program will be split between deck side and engine side at COB, starting in September, to certify young Bahamians for the maritime industry."The summer camp is promoted through school guidance counselors and printed material.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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