The Marine People Partnership: Building a Workforce for Our Ocean Industries through Ocean Literacy

Abstract

The announcement in 2010 of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strat-egy1 triggered murmurs of excitement across the broader marine industry in Canada. Embedded in this contract was a promise of meaningful contribu-tion, beyond Canada’s navy, to amplify benefits across the tiers and sectors of the marine industry. It also signaled a concomitant investment in the development of a present and future workforce to support these burgeoning industries. The announcement soon triggered ripples of additional federal and provincial investment and attention to ocean activities relating to research and observation, ocean technology innovations and entrepreneurship, and marine renewable energy. As the ripples of interest amplified across secondary and tertiary ocean sectors, optimism swelled at the possibility of establishing an integrated, modern, and sustainable national marine industry. But infusion of funding could only breath air into the lungs of the industry. It needed to be animated with people.