During the 2023 SMART4SEA Forum, Mr. Valentinos Steliou, Innovation Director, Mintra, referred to the benefits of AI and machine learning to support the upskilling as well as reskilling of seafarers globally. The development of the next generation of seafarers calls for tools and means beyond our capabilities today, he concluded.
We are at year 2027 and I would like to introduce you to John. John was born in 1992, he is a First Officer with nine years of industry experience. He is a Nautical Sciences graduate from Bremen University. John has recently landed a new contract with ‘Maritime X’ and he is about to embark on a vessel as First Officer. Maritime X is a well-known ship management company with offices in Canada, Hamburg, Manilla and Singapore. During his recruitment, John liked the smooth process of the interviews and gamified assessments on his technical and non-technical skills. He was impressed about the way the company accessed and evaluated his qualifications, as well as the company culture when it comes to his future development.
John is using a digital wallet to store all his documents, verified credentials and literally any proof of knowledge he wants to be able to share with the world. Basically, with the digital wallet he has built a complete profile, which covers everything from Verifiable Credentials (essentially his ID) to everything he has achieved. Maritime X has sent a request to John’s wallet for access to specific information. In a few seconds, John was able to share his story with the company, allowing the potential future employer to evaluate his profile for the position. Now that John has been recruited, he has been sent another invitation to connect to the company’s crewing software, which means that every update to the shared information will be available in real time – in the wallet and the company’s crewing software.
Maritime X has enrolled John to their own LXP (Learning Experience Platforms) where personalised learning goes a step further. It is powered by Artificial Intelligence, offering a Personalized Learning Assistant. Its Machine Learning capabilities can combine John’s information, with the benchmarking of the company, to recommend learning which is personalised and goal-based with clear learning paths. The system also provides usage and learning data, allowing John to track his progress against goals, bringing visibility to the possible career paths with the acquired knowledge. For the crew on board, learning experiences which can deliver content quickly around work are the way to go. Microlearning content solves that need on the spot.
On the other side is Antonia. Antonia is a Crew Manager in Manila for Maritime X. Part of her responsibilities is to apply selection processes to ensure that the competence of the crew exceeds market requirements. She is committed to the learning and development of all the crew through programs aiming to constantly upgrade their competence. This creates a culture which embraces change through upskilling and reskilling. It is crucial for the crew manager to have a scalable and adaptable infrastructure around technical training. At the same time, it is vital to focus on the continuous development for all the non-technical skills which will maintain a well-rounded crew. The tools in her arsenal are the latest technologies in digital learning combined with the latest learning methodologies.
A competent crew means an effective crew, leading to efficient operations. Efficient operations mean safety onboard and streamlined processes, which translates to a fulfilled crew. All of these elements lead to increased profits for every organisation.
Key strategies to move forward
Learning and development needs to be impactful and relevant, bridging the gap between theory and practice. This is achieved with:
- Small bite-size modules full of practical real-life examples and exercises.
- Content that is delivered through extended reality environments so that our learners can choose from different interactions within scenarios.
- Content accessible across all devices so that it becomes flexible and scalable.
Seafarers perform better when they have visibility of their career planning. When they know the path to a new rank or when they are aware of current and future responsibilities. We can achieve this by:
- Designing career plans based on the company’s goals influenced by system recommendations.
- Seafarer Contribution. When the seafarers contribute to the plan with their pace and performance and feel that their employer supports their growth, they repay with loyalty and a strong work ethic.
- Finally, the plan should be evaluated in real time in relation to the company goals. Several studies showed the strong relationship between strategically planned learning and development and increased company profitability.
Technology goes beyond storing and editing data, and beyond simplifying administrative processes. The crew manager needs access to solutions which support the strategy with smart data, meaningful visualisation and intelligent recommendations. This is translated to:
- Understanding the learning and usage trends of individual seafarers or the whole crew and run comparisons to the company’s benchmarks and industry norms.
- Accessing analytics that will tell us how much training is being used and how it’s being used. Analytics that will tell us who is training the most, what skills are in our organization, what gaps we have and who has high-potential. Information on the impact of the training to the performance of our crew and if methodologies are effective and financially profitable.
Lastly, Artificial Intelligence in Data Analytics is the biggest asset in Antonia’s arsenal because it can proactively detect learning needs and point out gaps based on the capabilities of the crew, while it defines learning strategies as corrective actions.
The examples of John and Antonia seem too far and very futuristic. However, the technologies already exist, and the vision is already in motion. The rate of our technological advancement is accelerating, it’s unpredictable and unprecedented.
Today, we are in the period where extended reality is challenging the boundaries of our real and virtual presence. Covid-19 has amplified the need for complete experiences which resulted the acceleration of holistic virtual spaces like the Metaverse. It is not about making the life of the seafarer easier. It is not about the convenience of the crew manager only.
Above article has been edited from Valentinos Steliou presentation during the 2023 SMART4SEA Athens Forum
Explore more by watching his video presentation herebelow
The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
