As part of activities to mark the 2024 international day for women in maritime, Women in Maritime Africa (WIMAfrica) Nigerian chapter, has encouraged students in secondary and tertiary institutions, especially the girl-child, to find their place in the over 150 career opportunities in the maritime sector.
The President of WIMA Nigeria, Mrs. Rollens Macfoy, reeled out some of these career opportunities to include; Marine Engineering, Diving, Oceanography, Maritime Law, Crew Management, Fish Trawling, Hyperbaric Doctors, Seafaring, among others.
Macfoy gave this advice while addressing senior secondary schools students and their colleagues from tertiary institutions including; Lagos State University, Nigerian Institute For Oceanography And Marine Research, and the University of Lagos.
Speaking at the event themed: “Safe Horizons: Women Shaping The Future Of Maritime Safety” which was organized to commemorate the second edition of International Maritime Organization (IMO) annual day for women in maritime, Macfoy expressed dissatisfaction at the low awareness of the vast opportunities in the maritime industry.
Her words: “The reason we have young ones here is to show you that there are enormous opportunities in the maritime sector. Beyond the popular fields like; doctors, lawyers, engineers and accountants, there are numerous other career opportunities in maritime.”
“I pray that this event will convey the real message about the enormous opportunities and potentials of the industry. If you are here today, make new friends and keep in touch so that you benefit from networking.”
Earlier, a former Continental President of WIMAfrica and Principal Partner, Jean Chiazor and Partners, Mrs. Jean Chiazor Anishere (SAN), expressed delight that WIMA decided to felicitate with women in the industry.
“Today, it is a good thing that we have women marine engineers, ship captains, seafarers and more. This achievement is attributable to the good work organizations like WIMA is doing via advocacy and awareness campaigns.”
“WIMAFRICA is about 8 years old and we have about 29 national chapters across the African continent and still counting. Few days ago, our dynamic Nigerian President opened a chapter in Ebonyi State and this is worth celebrating. When I was President of WIMA Nigeria, the only other chapter we had was the Abuja chapter. So, we are making progress in Nigeria,” the learned silk said.
Stressing that women are endowed with the abilities to thrive in the Nigerian maritime sector, Anishere projected that the sector will continue to experience an increasing impact of women through activities of groups like WIMA Nigeria.
Anishere commended LTT Coastal Marine for being an exemplary organization that avails women significant opportunities, even as she singled out the company’s Group Head of Human Resources, Mrs. Theodora Nwaeze as someone who deserves to be celebrated nationally, regionally and internationally for creating opportunities for women and encouraging women to do exploits in seafaring.
The event also featured a quiz segment as students from tertiary institutions explained various aspects of the blue economy with emphasis on sustainability, port optimization, free flow of cargoes, among others.
The WIMAfrica Continental Coordinator, Mrs Gloria Kanabe, commended the efforts of the former Continental President, Anishere and the Nigeria President, Macfoy, for deeming it important to train and mentor females in maritime.
Also speaking, a WIMAfrica Ambassador, Mr Obiageli Anubi, implored the students to tap into the golden opportunities in the maritime space while also encouraging them to work hard and be studious.
Participating students and guests were also guided on a boat tour at the Continental Shipyard.
