Local women encouraged to pursue maritime study

| 07/09/2016 | 3 Comments

CNS Business(CNS Business): Premier Alden McLaughlin has said he hopes to see more young women in the Cayman Islands make use of education-based government funding to consider maritime careers. Speaking at the inaugural Women in Maritime Association Caribbean (WiMAC) conference this week, he said, “This year government appropriated $152 million, or about US$190 million, for education purposes, which includes scholarships … I would be more than pleased if our young people saw fit to tap into this funding to pursue careers in the maritime industry.”

The premier added that the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) and the Ministry of Education have joined forces to offer maritime scholarships “to encourage youngsters to pursue a variety of careers in the maritime industry”.

Cayman has always been a seafaring nation, with much of our history and heritage entwined with sea-based occupations, but in the past, not many women have worked in the maritime industry.

“Not many Caymanian women went to sea; I recall two or three,” McLaughlin noted, as he delivered his address at the start of the conference, which was organised by MACI and facilitated by the United Nations through the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The premier pointed out that things have vastly changed over the years. There are now more women working at sea and there are more opportunities for women to work in maritime careers, especially with organisations such as WiMAC in place.

The purpose of the conference was for the Cayman government to work in partnership with women in the maritime industry to continue to build the sector and provide equal opportunity for Caymanian women.

“It is fitting that Cayman is involved with WiMAC and that one objective of this, this conference, is to foster the development and participation of women in the maritime sector and contribute to the growth of the industry in the region,” the premier added.

The conference, which is being held at the Marriott resort, continues until Friday.

Premier’s speech at WiMAC

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Category: Local Business, Shipping

Comments (3)

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  1. veronica Kanyi says:

    The article is very inspiring and encouraging but some countries women taking maritime courses is like wasting time and resources,example with myself i took maritime course,i ve diploma in marine transportation and holder of class 3 for deck officers and after all that effort im jobless coz shipping company in east Africa doesn’t take women onboard ships,No resources to take me back to college to take another course and i end of streets doing small business for my survival,so when i read articles encourages women to take maritime its pain and pity the whole story,i still have hope that a day i will shine,to Cayman if you can consider me for the scholarship can change my life and achieve my career.

  2. Anonymous says:

    This is wonderful indeed, Caymanian women have the sea in their DNA so they should do very well with careers that relates to seafaring.

    • Anonymous says:

      Nope…there is no scientific or biological evidence that a persons future career choices & decisions upon acquiring adulthood, are found in their DNA. You may need to read the article again and look for : ” Cayman has always been a seafaring nation, with much of our history and heritage entwined with sea-based occupations “. While the Premier is correct , the statement in no way infers a persons biological DNA , as you put it.

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