Increase black participation in maritime industry: dti

Thabethe was speaking at a workshop for Women in Shipping Industry in Durban on Friday, 24 May 2013, which was held to enlighten women about the industry as well as the skills needed.

"As an industry you must pursue a growth strategy that prioritises the retention and creation of quality jobs, most of which are on landside operations. In order to make this a reality, the industry must develop a deliberate strategy to increase access to skills, capital and economic opportunities and therefore raise the economic value add of every employee and enterprise in the industry," said Thabethe.

Thabethe said the industry must commit to embark on a major communication and marketing campaign that will take the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Charter for the Maritime Industry to every company within the industry, to ensure maximum participation by all stakeholders.

"This will require all stakeholders to recruit new black people into the industry and increase their skills and those of existing employees to best-practice international levels, while creating a supportive culture for their talents to thrive," she said.

In terms of the Maritime BEE Service Strategy, the overarching long-term vision is to develop South Africa to become one of the world's top 35 maritime nations by the year 2014.