Victor Oyaro Gekara

Water-tight or sinking? A consideration of the standards of the contemporary assessment practices underpinning seafarer licence examinations and their implications for employers

This article draws upon recent, detailed, research into the assessment practices of six seafarer labour supply countries in connection with the issue of licences. It outlines the different forms of assessment practiced and includes the relatively recent introduction of computer-based assessment in some states. In considering the validity and appropriateness of the assessment procedures, currently in use, the paper references, and presents, the views of a sample of employers who regularly recruit seafarers to work upon internationally trading deep-sea vessels.

E‐government adoption in Oman: motivating factors from a government perspective

Purpose – Since little research has been done on e‐government initiatives in developing countries from a government perspective, this study aims to contribute towards filling this empirical gap. It also comes at a time when Oman, like many other countries in the region are tackling issues related to transformation of public services and transparent government. E‐government is one of the tools in the process of transition.Design/methodology/approach – A theoretically derived and empirically confirmed framework of government motives for implementing e‐government is proposed. This study used a qualitative case study approach with semi‐structured interviews as the main tool of data collection and hermeneutics as the technique for data analysis. Empirical investigation was preceded by a content analysis of research and public official artefacts relating to motivation for engagement with e‐government in 70 developing countries. Identified motives were categorised through the lenses of institutional theory, info...

Upstream transport corridor inefficiencies and the implications for port performance: a case analysis of Mombasa Port and the Northern Corridor

The role of efficient ports in the socio-economic prosperity of national and regional economies cannot be overstated. However, their ability to effectively deliver on this role is easily undermined by circumstances in the wider socio-economic context, particularly poor hinterland connectivity. In order to enhance international trade connectivity, many advanced and advancing economies continue to invest significant resources in developing efficient ports and hinterland transport networks. The situation is different in many parts of the developing world, particularly Africa, where poor economic connectivity and inefficient gateway ports result in prohibitively high transportation costs. Focusing on the northern trade and transport corridor in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region, this article examines how poor hinterland connectivity undermines the performance of Mombasa port. It concludes that, although the port’s management has in recent years invested significantly in performance-enhancing initiatives, their success is limited by a constricted economic environment that is characterised by poor hinterland connectivity and chronic logistics bottlenecks along the arterial corridor.

Computer‐based assessment in safety‐critical industries: the case of shipping

Vocational education and training (VET) concerns the cultivation and development of specific skills and competencies, in addition to broad underpinning knowledge relating to paid employment. VET assessment is, therefore, designed to determine the extent to which a trainee has effectively acquired the knowledge, skills, and competencies required by employers. Across a range of occupations, such testing has traditionally comprised a portfolio of practical on‐the‐job assessments, oral tests and laboratory tasks. In recent years vocational training assessment has increasingly adopted new computer‐based assessment (CBA) methods and, as a consequence, consideration of the scope of computer‐based assessments and their appropriateness for vocational training evaluation is timely. This paper examines the growing adoption of CBA within the safety‐critical field of maritime education and training (MET), particularly, in relation to the summative assessment of seafarers for licensing purposes. It discusses the implications for validity, reliability and security.

Managerial Technologies and Power Relations: A Study of the Australian Waterfront

In recent times, the modern port has been characterised by rapid changes in work technologies and the consolidation of logistics functions. These changes signify an important recomposition of the port labour process and raise questions about the strategic location of frontline manual jobs. This research examines how these changes have played out in the Australian ports industry, developing the argument that a depersonalised managerial form of control is emerging with potentially challenging consequences for worker solidarity and collective organisation. The argument is that relations between port management and workers have changed significantly, with a reconfiguration of job roles, skill compositions and thus workplace power relations. It is informed by qualitative research at two Australian ports, exploring the organisation of work and the impact of recent technologies.

Seaport resilience to climate change: mapping vulnerability to sea-level rise

This paper examines the likely impact of extreme weather events and rising sea levels on key port logistics operations and infrastructure. It develops a 3D model to assess the vulnerability of seaports vis-à-vis operational assets to sea-level rise. Key operational assets were first identified and geo-referenced on a high-resolution digital terrain model. In addition, perceptions of threat of extreme weather events on port operations were also evaluated. The spatial model provides an innovative, flexible and visual representation of sea-level rise under different climate scenarios with the capability of mapping vulnerability of port assets relative to their location. The visual outputs provide the capacity to develop evidence-based adaptation strategies to adjust or retreat to respond to the risk of sea-level rise and related flooding. It is recommended that new infrastructure development should revisit design standards, specifications and procurement of assets that are more resilient and climate proof.

Meeting skills needs in a market-based training system: a study of employer perceptions and responses to training challenges in the Australian transport and logistics industry

Many countries are adopting market-based training systems to address industry skills needs. This paper examines the marketisation of Australia’s training system and the implications for training provision and outcomes in the Transport and Logistics industry. Drawing on qualitative interviews from industry employers and training providers, we examine the social structuring of the training market with reference to employer perceptions, behaviour and implications for the training system and outcomes. We conclude that the training market is not neutral but one shaped by major employers. Employers becoming enterprise training providers and training to their specific needs are identified as entrenching employer control over the training system with the unintended consequences of potentially restricting broader worker employability, marginalising the interests of smaller employers and contributing to unfavourable labour market outcomes. Enhanced social partnership is presented as a way to address these concerns and mitigate the negative consequences of training marketisation.

Union renewal through cross-border merger: Rationale, processes and challenges

A major challenge for trade unions is how to reposition themselves in order to counter the structural power of transnational capital. Unions seek this repositioning against the background of globalization and a new politico-economic order that is largely engineered by neoliberal nation-states and multinational capital. The agenda for renewal has, however, so far been confined largely within the national state, thus offering little effective challenge to internationally organized employers. This Research Note examines how two unions in the maritime sector, previously organizing in different countries, have sought to break from this tradition by merging to create a single cross-border union. It examines the rationale for, and the processes and challenges involved in, creating the cross-border merger and raises interesting questions for future research.

New technologies and the transformation of work and skills: a study of computerisation and automation of Australian container terminals

The increasing adoption of smart computer and robotic technologies at work has, in addition to displacing workers, significantly disrupted the traditional organisation of work and the workforce skills required. Based on a qualitative social science study, this paper discusses the ways in which these changes have affected container terminals. Specifically, we examine the transformation in the nature and content of work and the types of skills required by the workforce for the enduring and emerging jobs. We conclude that a completely different port terminal worker has emerged with a different job role and skills profile. Unlike the traditional ‘wharfie’ the emerging terminal worker is well educated and highly skilled. Furthermore, as physical shop floor operations are computerised and automated, greater importance is placed on soft, generic and transferable skills, with increasing emphasis on computer skills to facilitate effective work within a highly mechanised and digitalised work environment.

Designing and delivering skills transferability and employment mobility: the challenges of a market-driven vocational education and training system

Abstract As job security declines and precarious employment arrangements become more prevalent, transferable skills have become vital for job seeking success. In recognition of this issue, many governments are seeking to redesign their training systems in ways that transferable skills become better emphasised. This paper examines the challenges of developing transferable skills among a nation’s workforce and the tensions that can emerge between training design intentions and training delivery outcomes when training delivery is marketised. Australia, where incremental training sector reforms have occurred since the late 1980s, serves as the context for this study. While training design occurs through a tripartite process involving employer, government and union representatives, training delivery is now determined in an open, deregulated market environment. Our analysis reveals a complex underlying design with an in-built intention of developing widely transferable skills, yet there exists significant concern about the actual training outcomes. We conclude that in an environment where VET delivery is user-choice driven with the aim of fulfilling specific employer skills needs the quality, depth and breadth of transferable skills are compromised.