How to enter into a maritime career in Kenya

Maritime is a global sector, which keeps world economies running. It is vital for any country, as it transports 90% of world trade. For developing countries, where Kenya lies, the Maritime professional is very new, hence there's the urge to direct and guide young people into joining the professional. Concentrating on Kenya, there are very few ships flagged by the Kenyan government, making it difficult even for the prospective seafarers to identify their job market. Thanks to visionary professors e.g. Professor Maranga (JKUAT) and outstanding professional seamen e.g. Eng. D. Kariuki (KPA), curriculums have been developed and adopted by two universities and some maritime colleges. The main problem for lack of training institutions in Kenya has been, lack of white listing by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Noting that careers in Maritime world are divided into two:
1. Offshore careers
2. Shore based careers
This blog is biased on offshore careers

In Kenya, shore based career opportunities are very common compared to the offshore jobs, as per the reason given above. Shore jobs are occupied by all kind of engineers, from Mechanical engineers, to process engineers, to the few Marine engineers and to retired seamen. The shore jobs are very competitive since most employers want any kind of engineers to fill spots. The major reason being that Kenyan shore jobs on ships vary from overhauls to very minor repairs of the engine and the auxiliary systems. The other limitation is that Kenya has only one sea port, the Mombasa port, with just three companies offering engineering services; namely:
1. Southern Engineering Company (SECO)
2. Kenya Marine Contractor (COMARCO)
3. African Marine and General Engineering Company (AMGECO)

Initially, Kenya has had just one college offering training in maritime based skills, The Bandari College in Mombasa, just adjacent the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). This has been offering a diploma level training for deck and engine officers. With the urgency of development, universities have come up with graduate level degree program in Marine Engineering, since Kenya was white listed by the IMO. The first was Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in 2010 and later Technical University of Mombasa (TUK). They both offer Bachelor of Science Marine Engineering.

To get into the Degree programs, there are two ways to join the university, either being sponsored by the government, through the higher education placement body or by self sponsoring yourself i.e. for the able students. To be sponsored by the government, you have to perform exceptionally well in the  Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams. After performing well in in your KCSE exams, you have to fill your choice course (BSc. Marine Engineering) as your first choice since there are few opportunities offered by the university, normally 15 to 18 students per university. After filling the courses, you have to check online when the results are out the wait for the official communication from the university on reporting details.

For the self sponsored students, you have to have attained a minimum of a B plain grade in your KCSE exams, with a grade B plain in Mathematics and Physics. Meeting the selection, criteria, you either have to go online and download a request form or go to the university and purchase a form for a value between 1000KSh to 2000KSh. The forms are submitted to the university, duly filled with the correct documentation attached. One awaits the vetting by the university after which they are informed through an admission letter.

This information is a slight detail to give guidelines to any person interested in joining University for a Degree program in Marine Engineering. The information is general, since the universities keep changing their admission criterion and have different admission procedures. The information above is slightly biased on Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), but shouldn't be much different from the other university.

For prospective deck officers, its very unfortunate since there is no degree currently being offered in the country. One can acquire that by studying abroad or by starting with a diploma and with time rising the ranks. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is developing a curriculum and soon BSc. Nautical Science will be offered.