According to the Political Counsellor at the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, Grace Lee, blue economy offered young people essential roles to contribute to the development of the ocean and the nation.

“Unfortunately, young people do not consider careers in the blue economy nor are they aware of the emerging technology-related employment opportunities within the ocean-based sector,” she added.

Event

Ms Lee gave the advice at a blue career fair aimed at building the capacity of young people to contribute meaningfully towards the advancement of Africa’s blue economy in Accra last Tuesday. The event, which was organised by the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GoGMI), in partnership with the DOTCAN Institute of Canada and the Canadian High Commission, was attended by stakeholders such as the Ghana Navy, the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), as well as students from the Accra High School, the Armed Forces SHS and IPEL International School.

An exhibition was also mounted to offer the students an insight into various careers within the maritime space.

Ms Lee commended the partners for the programme and further advised the students to establish contacts with maritime industry practitioners to help them on their career path. 

Significance

A Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Shiela Naah-Boamah, commended the organisers for the initiative and said it would go a long way to positively influence career choices. 

“While we applaud the organisers for this laudable initiative, our hope is that the programme will be extended to other secondary schools outside Accra where students from those areas would also be exposed to opportunities outside the regular careers,” she added

The Board Director of DOTCAN Institute, Simone Le-Gendre, said the partnership was aimed at ensuring students were equipped with employable skills.

She said unemployment was a huge problem across the world, hence the need to ensure that young people acquired skills aligned to opportunities available within the maritime sector.

“Many a time, people make choices and cannot get jobs at the end of the day. So our goal is to expose such people to the needed exposure and opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial skills where they could establish businesses in eco-tourism, freight forwarding and other related ventures,” Ms Simone Le-Gendre added.

Objective

The Associate Director at the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute (GoGMI), Stephanie Schandorf, also said that the fair was intended to provide students with a better understanding of the ocean and the role they could play in building a sustainable future for the blue planet.

According to her, the institute had played an active role in research, advocacy and capacity-building in the areas of ocean governance and maritime security within the Gulf of Guinea and beyond.

“Youth engagement has always remained a critical aspect of our operations and we hope the relevant agencies will support us in this endeavour,” Ms Schandorf said.