Maritime Youth Ambassadors
Maritime Youth Ambassadors are enthusiastic young people who enjoy promoting the sector among young people.
The Dutch maritime sector is struggling with an image problem. Young people who are not familiar with the sector generally have no (or the wrong) idea about learning and working in the maritime sector.
They can hardly imagine the kind and nature of the work. In addition, they do not have a good idea of the possibilities within the sector and the vast possibilities for an attractive maritime career.
To make young people enthusiastic about a (technical) maritime education, The Dutch Maritime Network started a pilot project in 2013 to deploy young people as maritime youth ambassadors. This pilot was financed by the maritime industry. Maritime students and young professionals share their own experience in and passion for the maritime sector with prospective students. This is based on the idea that young people who are close to the target group speak the same ‘language’ and know how to strike the right chord with them.
The maritime youth ambassadors play an important role in approaching young people. They provide information on the entire spectrum of (technical) maritime training and how a career in the maritime sector can be very fulfilling. Every year new maritime youth ambassadors are appointed, but the ambassadorship remains for life. In this way we are building a ‘community’ of maritime ambassadors, who continue to dedicate themselves to the education of young people in the sector during their careers.