Maritime career : perception and expectation of maritime graduates of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Abstract

Career maritime is an important career in the world because about 90% of world trade is conducted via sea route. With the area that surrounded by the sea and strategic position in Asian region, Malaysian should be proud with the existence of world class-ports such as Port Kelang and Port of Tanjung Pelepas which enables us to compete with developed countries in maritime industry especially. This study carried out in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) which inv9lves only maritime graduates. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Inc.) is used in this research to study and identify number or percentage of the factors and reasons why maritime graduate choose a career in maritime field as their profession. In addition, this study also identified the major influencers in career selection and source of information when making a career choice. Interviews and questionnaires are conducted to selected UMT's maritime graduates as the method to obtain the data. By using SPSS Inc., the data are analyzed and showed in table form and chart by the numbers or percentage respectively. This research has significant because it can determine the perception and expectation of maritime graduates who represents Malaysian regarding marine career. It is expected that the present study assist in finding the methods to improve the misconception about marine industry and attracts more Malaysian to involve in maritime profession. For the future, the research should be conducted not only limited to maritime graduates but should involves the public to get a better and accurate result.