The fast-growing blue economy is shifting toward digital and sustainable practices, creating more job opportunities in new and existing sectors. Employment in ocean industries is expected to double between 2010 and 2030. Yet, the current workforce is aging, and attracting young talent remains a challenge. The 2021 Seafarer Workforce Report highlights the urgent need for more training to avoid shortages by 2026.
Many young people view the blue economy narrowly, often linking it only to fishing or shipbuilding. To change this, schools must promote ocean literacy and introduce students to the full range of blue careers. Educators play a key role in bridging the skills gap and reducing youth unemployment.
The Objectives
The main goal of this project is to raise awareness among young people about Blue Career Opportunities and to provide teachers with tools that enable them to inform and guide their students in this regard.
This goal will be met by achieving the following objectives:
- Create an up-to-date database on careers and training in six Blue Economy sectors: nautical tourism, maritime transport, shipbuilding/repair, marine biotech, aquaculture, and conservation/ocean literacy.
- Guide youth into Blue Economy careers through the BlueGeneration Game, a self-assessment gamification tool.
- Help students and teachers explore career paths with the Blue Career Pathway Tool, an interactive platform.
- Train educators with a free online course (MOOC) to support career guidance using both tools
Dataset on career and training opportunities in Blue Economy
Creation of a database of more than 200 career and training paths in the following 6 sectors: Nautical Tourism, Maritime Transport, Shipping , Marine Biotechnology, Aquaculture, Marine conservation/Ocean Literacy.
This will provide users with a detailed understanding of careers in the Blue Economy and increase their attractiveness.
Coming soon
The BlueGeneration Game
The BlueGeneration Game is a self-assessment tool (using the gaming environment) that will help young people and those interested to find their place in the Blue Economy.
This orientation tool will create an isometric 3D world that will allow users to play the game while assessing their skills. The aim is to raise interest, lower entry barriers and increase the attractiveness of Blue Economy careers.
Coming soon
Blue Careers Pathway Tool
The Pathway tool aims to increase the awareness, visibility and attractiveness of Blue Career opportunities for secondary, vocational and higher education students.
This tool is directly designed for individualised career guidance to students. It aims to make students aware of the opportunities in the Blue Economy and to encourage them to start a career in one of the 5 sectors presented.
Coming soon
MOOC training course for teachers
The development and delivery of the MOOC, a train-the-trainer course providing easy-to-use background information, will enable teachers and trainers to support the guidance provided by the Blue Career Pathway tool and the BlueGeneration game.
Coming soon