6 JUNE 2018 • FOGHORN FOGHORNFOCUS: OPERATIONS T he passenger vessel industry is enjoying a period of healthy growth. However, sustaining that growth depends in large part upon having the internal resources – and specifically workforce – to meet projected demand. As Past PVA President Robin Trinko-Russell with Madeline Island Ferry Line of LaPointe, WI noted in the November 2017 issue of FOGHORN, “PVA members have a lot of money invested in capital goods, vessels and shoreside facilities. However, nothing works unless the company invests in its human capital.” The reality is that the majority of the industry’s human capital, particular- ly at the leadership level, is exiting the workforce. Within the next 10 years, a near-majority of passenger vessel industry leaders will retire or be eligible for retirement. As the “silver tsunami” of baby boomers, who are today’s passenger vessel captains, engineers and supervisors leave the workplace, decades of experience and critical corporate knowledge leave with them. With a smaller pool of “millennials” to recruit from, passenger vessel companies are also looking for new methods to attract and retain younger workers. At the same time, technology and continual demands to maintain relevant and evolving training standards underscore the need for a comprehensive corporate strategy to recruit, train and retain an educated, skilled workforce. Apprenticeship is a centuries-old proven strategy for maintaining a sustainable workforce. Today, it has become more relevant than ever as a key component to human resource strategy. It can be used to develop a company’s talent pipeline, attract workers who are more likely to stay with the company for the long term and identify next-gener- ation home-grown leaders. As an employer-driven and employer-owned approach to workforce development, companies can tailor an appren- ticeship program’s format to meet organizational needs. For example, employers can choose to have apprentices work according to skill proficiency on either a time-based or com- petency-based approach, or a hybrid mixing minimum time requirements with demonstration of proficiency to attain designated benchmarks. Employers determine the quali- fications for apprentice selection and can choose to award apprentices credit for previous experience and/or academic training and credentials. Employers can terminate apprentic- es at any point and de-activate or re-activate their programs to meet fluctuating workforce demand. Employers with ap- prenticeship programs consistently cite the benefit of having a structured method to transfer their senior employees’ expe- rience to newer employees t h r o u g h o n - t h e - j o b mentored learning. The low ratio of mentors to appren- tices ensures a more rapid development of proficiency in critical competency areas. A p p r e n t i c e s a r e employees – either new hires or incumbent workers – who learn company-spec- ified skills through guided workplace training and relevant related technical instruction (RTI). RTI complements apprentices’ on-the-job learning (OJL) and is customized by the company to ensure that critical knowledge required for workplace competency is taught to participating apprentices. Employers choose the RTI educa- tional provider – from community and technical colleges, vendors or contracted trainers – or employers can provide their own RTI onsite apart from OJL. A2016 Case Western Reserve study cited three metrics of employer benefits from deploying the apprenticeship model of workforce development: • Production: Companies gain the value of output by apprentices and later by apprentice graduates, plus a reduction in errors. • Workforce: Companies are able to recruit and retain a higher-quality pipeline of skilled employees, some of whom become leading candidates for future managers. • Soft skills: Apprenticeships lead to improved employee engagement, greater problem-solving ability, flexibility to perform a variety of tasks, and a reduced need for supervision. While apprenticeship provides companies with a valuable tool to strategically hire, train and promote talent it also provides demonstrable benefits for apprentices. Preparing the Next Generation Passenger Vessel Industry Workforce By Barbara R. Murray, Executive Director at TransPORTs Photo: TCC NSF ATE SMART Center - www.maritime-technology.org