THE Eastern Cape Maritime Summit in East London will present school pupils with comprehensive information about study and rapidly developing career options in the sea-related economy.
The summit will be held later this month and school groups are also invited to attend a careers exhibition attached to the summit, to take place at Hemingways.
Maritime-related careers are expected to boom over the next decade, as not only South Africa but the rest of the continent is focused on initiating deliberate programmes to optimise Africa’s marine resources.
Bo Aronsson, who is a Swedish architect, strategist and global town planning expert, will be in East London this month for the Summit.
He will be flying in from Gothenburg especially for the three-day event.
The summit will attract at least 200 delegates from across the country to discuss business opportunities along the region’s coastline.
Summit organiser Andrew Binning said the focused drive on marine-related business and the consequent jobs created in the sector by the South African government, “represented a significant opportunity” to school- leavers.
“There is a need to develop the skills required by this growth and to also accelerate growth, the potential of which is enormous,” Binning said.
An announcement as well as the establishment of a Maritime Cluster for Buffalo City would be a lead feature of the summit, according to Border-Kei Chamber of Business CEO Les Holbrook, which would represent and lobby for the maritime business interests of the region.
However, Holbrook warned that local business and government leaders needed to work together to secure investment in the sector or face the prospect of being marginalised.
Among the exhibitors that will be present at the Maritime Careers Expo are South Africa’s leading maritime educational institutions including the Maritime School of Excellence, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, East Cape Midlands College and the South African International Maritime Institute.
The summit will be opened by Buffalo City Metro Municipality executive mayor Xola Phakati.
School groups are invited to attend the careers exhibition at specific times on October 27 and 28.
Booking is essential.
This can be done by contacting the organisers at 086-110-1475 or email: wellington@inkanyezi.co.za
For more information visit: www.maritimesummit.co.za
