The latest project launched by K1 Britannia (see Monday paper) is in any case a timely one with the start of a new yachting season. Practical skills are often best learned on the job, an opportunity responsibly sailing and operating a schooner doing paid cruises undoubtedly gives.
It also involves attending to guests, basics of which can be applied throughout the hospitality sector. That as well as the required discipline, teamwork and accountability are potential long-term benefits.
But also – and perhaps equally – important is the adventurous nature of this undertaking, making it an attractive prospect for the target group including vulnerable and at-risk youth. The move fits in with the foundation’s earlier involvements with the marine industry together with Holland America Line, Kidz at Sea, National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA), Milton Peters College (MPC) and others.
And that makes sense, as it regards one of the growth segments of the tourism industry. As a service-driven business it has created a lot of vacancies over the past decades often filled by people from elsewhere for lack of qualified local alternatives. Efforts have been made to address this need for on-island local training and certainly Maritime School of the West Indies based in Marigot has played a major role in providing it for both residents and expatriates.
But stimulating more interest in boating among youngsters surely can’t hurt, because that’s where much of the work in St. Maarten is being done. Prospects offered by the marine sector may be better than many realise.
