Elnet Maritime Agency and the Ministry for Grand Bahama announced the launch of a maritime cadet program for high school students at a press conference held at the ministry.
President of Elnet, Ebert Hepburn, says that the program, which he conceived, is part of his promise to give back to the community. Hepburn said, “so this has sat with me since 2018 to this current moment. Now over the years, of course, we had Hurricane Dorian that was a delay, then we had the pandemic which was another delay and of course most of us as business people kept moving forward but the one thing that stuck with me is we were going to finish the maritime center and we were going to develop Maritime 101. I fell in love with the industry when I was in the eleventh grade. So at the age of sixteen I entered this industry and I’m now forty two and I have not left yet.”
For her part, Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Ginger Moxey says the program is inline with the government’s Blueprint For Change. The minister also said, “there are enormous opportunities for our people in this industry that have yet to be tapped into. And so by presenting this program for the twelfth graders, that where it will start but I’m sure its going to progress, and the other graders would be able to join in it, it just opens up their eyes to see the opportunities in it.”
Participants in the program will undergo six weeks of theoretical and practical training in topics such as maritime operations and logistics, marine piloting and professional deportment.
