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Phil Schifflin, Director of SCI's Center for Mariner Advocacy, recently attended the Greater New Orleans Port Safety Council Harbor Safety Committee’s Marine Industry Day. While in attendance, Phil participated on a panel where the panelists shared their thoughts on addressing the current mariner shortages experienced by the inland marine industry. Phil had two key industry recommendations for consideration: better image and messaging around opportunities and expanding the pool of potential applicants.
Towards enhancing the industry’s image and messaging to attract potential workers, Phil emphasized the importance of effective marketing. There are too many potential employees who are simply unaware of the opportunities available. The second step related to image is more complex—identifying issues that cause new hires to leave. The inland marine industry needs to find ways to address those issues so that more recent hires, and potential new hires, view jobs in maritime as “good jobs” that should be sought after and kept if one is fortunate enough to earn a position.
Concerning expanding the pool of potential applicants, Phil noted that historically, mariners in the inland marine industry have been predominantly white males. But, due to ongoing changes in overall demographics, the percentage of white males in the U.S. workforce is decreasing. And while there are many cultural and sound reasons to actively promote open positions to more diverse populations, this changing demographic also makes it a priority.
Phil stated that while the industry has made progress in recruiting for diversity, there is still work to be done in this area. Gender representation, he noted, remains a significant concern. With women comprising nearly half of the U.S labor force, they only represent a slender fraction of the mariners currently working. Phil stressed the importance of better recruitment and retention strategies to attract and retain women as mariners to meet future demands effectively within the industry.
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