A.P. Moller Maersk announces India’s first Women Seafarers’ Cadet Programme

May 18, 2022

Designed in association with the Academy of Maritime Education and Training Chennai, the programme will promote seafaring careers amongst young women. Maersk sets an ambitious 2027 goal: Women to make up for 50% of its fresh cadet intake.

On the occasion of the first International Day for Women in Maritime, A.P. Moller – Maersk’s announced India’s first seafarers’ cadet programme dedicated to women. Young women who wish to choose a career in seafaring can enrol for the programme facilitated by AMET, Chennai, after completing their high school and choose between the three-year Bachelors in Nautical Science or the four-year Bachelors in Engineering degree courses. By promoting women to take up these courses and ensuring that they get access to the right academics in the right environment, Maersk is truly committing itself to improve Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in the long run.

Women are reshaping the corporate world, taking on responsibilities in almost every sector, function and role. However, the seafaring community, which has otherwise been male-dominated, has not progressed at the same pace as the mainstream corporates. This must change, and to bring about that change, it is necessary to start at grass root level. Women make 0.5% of the total Indian seafarers today. This gender imbalance can be improved if the whole industry makes efforts to provide proper career counselling to young women and their parents at the right age, facilitate the right academics, create job opportunities, ensure a safe and healthy work environment at sea, and ensure fair employment in the long-term to the women.

Karan Kochhar

Head of Marine HR – Asia, Maersk

By 2027, Maersk aims to increase the proportion of women among the fresh cadets inducted to 50% from a baseline of 7.6% in 2021. To achieve this ambitious target, Maersk is creating a talent pool of women seafarers through this programme. Therefore, the company has partnered with AMET, Chennai, to roll out a unique cadet programme that will offer appropriate opportunities necessary for honing the technical and social skills required to launch women into the profession. This programme will ensure infrastructural advancements at the facility that are suitable and desirable for residential female students, undertake cultural enhancement that takes care of a psychologically and physically safe environment, and implement a vigilant administrative practice at the educational institute. Maersk will play an active role in providing constant care to the students enrolling for the programme through regular visits to the facility, one-on-one interactions with students, direct contact with Maersk representatives, and several other initiatives.