Kenya eyes growing annual maritime revenues by 181 percent by 2035
The government will incorporate maritime studies in the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) education system as it pursues an annual Sh500 billion from the Blue Economy by 2035.
Further, maritime disciplines' trainers will have their curriculum reviewed to incorporate up to date aspects of competitiveness so as to make graduates fully baked for the global market.
This was announced by Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba during his Thursday tour of duty in Murang'a County, adding that if fully exploited, the sector can guarantee the economy at least 200,000 annual job opportunities--direct and indirect.
He said currently the sector contributes to 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Produce with an annual revenues of Sh179 billion.
He said Pioneer Group of Schools in Murang'a County owned by former Equity Bank chairman Mr Peter Munga has proved that incorporating maritime studies in the syllabus is beneficial in opening up minds for the immense untapped gains in the sector.
"The schools have inculcated a culture of maritime studies in their syllabus and the benefits are already there yo be seen where some students have won career sponsorships to pursue related courses," Mr Ogamba said.
Mr Munga said his strategists had about a decade ago identified the key place of maritime affairs in the global economy and started a gradual infusion of related studies in his education space.
"We are happy that the government now seeks to fully incorporate marine courses in the CBC. We are happy to be involved and we are taking pride of being the first secondary education trainers to offer maritime courses in the country," Mr Munga said.
Mr Munga said he has since entered into a pact with Mombasa Port and Kenya Navy to offer his students with practical insights into the industry, adding that "the government needs to broaden opportunities and facilities for sector related interns".
He said his students during familiarisation attachments, learn about ships, cargo offloading and marine security.
Fisheries, aquaculture, coastal tourism, shipping and ports, offshore renewable energy and biotechnology are the major departments of the blue economy that generate revenues for the national economy.
Mr Ogamba added that his officials have commenced preparing a curriculum that incorporates the sector's potential windows.
He said the drive is in realisation that both local and international job market have insatiable appetite for maritime related jobs.
“We want to ensure that our training capacity and competence will be for the global market. We want to ensure that once we unleash our graduates from our training institutions, there will be no need for the graduates to be subjected to further training before getting absorbed into any job market," he said.
The CS emphasised that CBC is a skills-based training, and courses in the maritime sector are majorly multifaceted competencies.
"One of the interesting facet is in the national security where we have the Kenya Navy. Our soldiers are also trained on maritime issues and are our good ambassadors in the deep waters," he said.
Mr Titus Rotich who is a maritime engineer, said prime salaries in the sector start at a minimum of Sh800,000 per year.
He said United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) latest report on trade and environment review (2023) puts the ocean economy at between $3 and $6 trillion.
"This offers insights into the enormous opportunities that we as a developing country can build on. It is estimated that the sector hosts 3 billion livelihoods with a maximum capacity of 20 times growth by 2035," Mr Rotich said.
