Abstract
The traditional cadet training system as discussed in the human resource literature on seafarers is epitomic of a succession planning system which primarily ensures that there is a reliable pool of talents from which shipping companies could pick future ship officers; but the vagaries of globalisation coupled with economic pressures is changing the complexion of cadet training for the shipping industry. As a result, what are currently left of cadet training are the relics of poor recruitment practices from shipping industry employers which is evidenced by high attrition rates among cadets. Ensuring a constant supply of cadets to fill the position of retiring and departing ship officers is a necessity; hence the need for a career and talent planning system – succession planning. This conceptual paper examines how succession planning for seafarers can be used as tool towards ensuring sustainability of ship officer supply for employers within the global shipping industry. In particular, the paper focuses on how certain peculiar aspects of the shipping industry; makes succession planning an imperative solution towards ensuring sustainability of skilled labour supply. The paper concludes with recommendations and directions for future research to draw greater attention to solutions for the greater officer shortage.
Highlights
The global shipping industry is experiencing a shortage of ship officers; which is set to escalate in the future as the world economy moves out of recession [1,2,3,4,5]
An effective succession planning for seafaring will mean that the attitude of shipping industry employers towards the sustainability of labour would not be reactive or demand driven but rather it is increasingly becoming necessary that strategies used to shore up labour requirements in the shipping industry assume a proactive approach [12]
This paper has outlined the keys issues discussed in the general literature on succession planning with a particular focus on what should be construed as best practice
Summary
The global shipping industry is experiencing a shortage of ship officers; which is set to escalate in the future as the world economy moves out of recession [1,2,3,4,5]. The key challenges necessitating a need for effective strategies towards the recruitment and training of cadets include: an increasingly ageing global ship officer profile [10], lack of interest in a seafaring career among the youth and high rates of attrition among cadets [2, 3, 5, 7, 8]. All these translate into a need for succession planning, to ensure an effective management of the career ambitions of cadet trainees in order to reduce wastage which has been identified in research as one of the major factors contributing to the shortage of ship officers [5, 11]. Due to the aforementioned list of growing challenges confronting an effective training and grooming of cadets into ship officers, this paper advocates a need for human resource managers within the shipping industry to employ succession planning tools at the organisational level to stabilise the flow of seafarers from the lower ranks to the higher echelons of a ship’s crew complement
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