NYK Begins Project to Encourage Greater Maritime Awareness among Students
January 22, 2015
On the bridge of a vessel under construction
NYK has started the “NYK Mirai Project” to encourage greater awareness of maritime affairs and the seafaring life among students at elementary, junior high, and maritime schools in Japan.
The demand for seafarers around the world has been increasing, and skilled Japanese seafarers are well-regarded. However, a seafaring career is often not an option considered as a future job among younger generation in Japan. Therefore, NYK has implemented this project to help familiarize students with vessel operations and life aboard so that informed career choices can eventually be made.
Sample Activities of the NYK Mirai Project
- Visits by maritime school students to shipyards to witness the building of NYK vessels
- Lectures at elementary and junior high schools by NYK maritime staff
- Offering vessel boarding opportunities to elementary and junior high school students, in addition to general citizens
- Introduction of the maritime industry at junior high school orientations
- Taking maritime school teachers aboard vessels operated by NYK
At Ohnishi Shipyard
On December 13, as the first activity of this project, NYK maritime staff took students from the Hiroshima National College of Maritime Technology on a visit to the Ohnishi Shipyard (Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture) of Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co. Ltd. (head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Hisashi Kadota), where the students took a tour of the construction of a vessel that had been ordered by NYK. Students seeing an immense vessel for the first time were surprised by the difference in the size of the vessel compared with the school’s training ship.
NYK will continue its efforts to enhance this project through such activities so that elementary, junior high, and maritime school students who will lead the next generation can develop an interest in the maritime industry and thus consider careers at shipping companies.
Reference: (NYK’s initiative to foster Japanese seafarers) Free Entrance for Maritime Students
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