The educational program Adopt a Ship™ managed in Greece by NPO Project Connect™, aims to preserve traditional seamanship, a valuable heritage for Greeks since ancient times, and to pass it on to new generations.

Project Connect™ links education to shipping and the labor market, with the authorization of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs & Sports and the endorsement of the Ministry of Shipping & Insular Policy, and the Ministry of Labor & Social Security. It further provides opportunities and actively supports young men and women who want to work professionally in the maritime industry by offering access to the Online CV platform by Project Connect™.

The innovative and first online CV platform bridges undergraduates and graduates of universities and maritime academies to more than eighty major shipping companies, all members of Project Connect, very important for their future. The primary aim is to learn about shipping at sea and shore to enhance youth employability and shipping industry’s sustainability.

In addition, the CV platform offers the experience of a 3D virtual tour of a shipping company and a unique Shipping Career Office Support Kit for everyone. Also, Project Connect facilitates a Work Study Program that helps prepare youth for their easier employability.

How it works: The candidates upload their CVs, applying for internships and entry-level jobs through an HR-designed process which also offers member HR Departments a heads-up to complement their selection process. Already, over one hundred students and graduates were placed through the online CV Platform, and over four hundred students have populated the database since its inception. Many students have already benefited from finding the work experience needed to secure entry-level jobs upon graduation through the online platform.

The Adopt a Ship™ program was created by the Cyprus Chamber of Shipping (CSI) and the Cyprus Marine Environment Protection Association (CYMEPA) in 2006 for young pupils. In Greece, the largest ship owning country globally, the program was established in 2018 by Project Connect™, collectively with its members’ support. In the country, the teachers are carrying the torch of seamanship in synergy with the captains of vessels provided by the shipowners. The aim is to learn about shipping at sea and shore to enhance youth employability and shipping industry’s sustainability. It is noteworthy that Adopt a Ship™ supports ten of the seventeen sustainable goals of the UN. To date, more than 14,000 Primary and Secondary (High School and EPAL) Education students – from both public and private institutions – across Greece have benefited from the program. The Adopt a Ship™ Program has already been well received by the Greek education system, as it has been “adopted” by 168 classes from 122 Primary and Secondary Schools in collaboration with 122 ships from forty-eight of Greece’s most reputable and traditional shipping companies, this year alone.

Moreover, the benefits for teachers are numerous as they enrich their lesson content with new information provided by the captains. This enhances cultural sensitivity and global awareness, enabling them to educate their students more comprehensively and inclusively.
Project Connect™ enables the strengthening of skills based on a strategy built upon three main pillars. This involves live self-awareness and self-development workshops for college students and graduates, as well as connecting ships with classrooms, engaging captains, teachers, and students aged 8 to 18 years as key participants.

The maritime education program Adopt a Ship™ and the benefits of Online CV platform by Project Connect™ will be promoted by Project Connect at the leading international shipping exhibition, Posidonia 2024, which takes place from June 3 to 7 at the Athens Metropolitan Expo. Aiming to promote participation and further action, the people of Project Connect will be present, eager to inform, create synergies, and promote the program to stakeholders from the maritime and educational sectors.

“We are particularly happy to participate for another year in Posidonia, contributing to the chain of maritime education and training in Greece, a country that leads in world shipping,” said Irene Notias, Founder, and Director of Project Connect™.

This year’s participation in Posidonia is even more significant, as the Ministry of Shipping & Insular Policy has declared 2024 the “Year of Maritime Education”, reminding us that the contribution of the educational system to the future of Greek shipping is invaluable.

Project Connect™’s role in enhancing youth employability in the maritime industry, in pursuit of excellence, is noteworthy and was recognized with the Lloyd’s Greek Shipping Award in the “Education or Training” category in 2022.

Project Connect™ calls everyone to participate, shipping and maritime company members, teachers, schools, college students and graduates, EPAL senior students or graduates, Marine Cadets and graduates, and trade associations to collectively build the next generation shipping workforce.

Source: Project Connect