The Maritime Industry Workforce 
Maritime Roundtable 
March 27, 2014

Image of job opportunities in the
maritime industry vs. reality 
Perception: Jobs are old-school, unskilled
blue collar in a poorly-paid dying industry
with little advancement. 
Reality: Jobs are skilled blue or even white
collar, requires certifiable skills, pay well in
a stable industry, have opportunities for
career advancement.

Reality: Good Jobs in a Thriving Industry 
In 2012 Washington's Maritime Cluster employed more than
57,700 people. Indirect and induced Maritime jobs account for
another 90,000 jobs, for a total impact of almost 148,000 jobs. 
The average annual salary before benefits among Maritime
workers was $70,800 in 2012, though this varied by activity area
within the cluster. 
The Maritime Cluster paid a total of over $4 billion in wages in
2012. Nearly 30% each of wages came from these sectors: 
Boat and Ship Building, Repair, and Maintenance 
Fishing and Seafood Products 
Logistics and Shipping

Reality: Stable employment despite recession

Opportunity: 
Maritime workers in demand 
Offshore workers: 
Captains, mates $70,800 
Sailors, oilers: $47,570 
Ships engineers: $71,810 
Onshore workers: Skilled trades 
Marine Welders: $43,500 
Electricians: $59,100 
Marine Pipefitters: $59,380

Challenge: Industry requires 
a skilled workforce 
Industry is requiring a higher level of skill
due to more advanced technology in
maritime industry 
Coast Guard requiring higher levels of
certification 
Students coming out of high school with
limited STEM skills (math especially)

Challenge: Replacing an aging
workforce 
Almost 40% of workers
over 50 years old.

Challenge: Maritime industry 
needs better messaging 
Students not aware of the nature of the
industry  see it as unskilled manual labor 
Career opportunities in the maritime
industry not well understood by K-12
educators 
Parents and educators promote only 4-year
degree for white collar office work to
students.

Opportunity: wide range of education
and training providers 
4-year institutions for professional dev. (Cal.
Maritime) 
2-year community colleges for vocational
trades (SCCC, SSCC) 
Public promoters, coordinators, liaison
between educators and industry (Skagit
Valley Ctr. Of Excellence)

Opportunity: wide range of education
and training providers 
Private/non-profit industry funded trainers
for on-board training (PMI, Compass
Courses) 
Union apprenticeships (pipefitters, marine
carpenters) 
Direct industry private training (Kvichak,
Vigor)

Challenge: Lack of coordination among 
educational and training institutions 
Competition for students 
Competition for funds 
Educators don't always provide skill training
to the level/degree that industry needs 
Educational norm is 2 or 4-year degree vs.
certificates and on the job training as
industry norm

Emerging Solutions 
Better industry messaging on the importance of
the maritime industry to the region (WMF) 
Basic training for K-12 students in skills needed
for maritime occupations (CorePlus) 
Coordination between educators on maritime
careers (Washington Maritime Coalition) 
Better on-the-ground training efforts between
industry and educators (Vigor welding shop, SMA
expansion)

Improvements? 
How do we message better as an industry? 
How can partnerships in educational and
training between the industry and
educational sector improve? 
How can the many educational and training
institutions work together better?