Busan City Cultivates 'Marina Specialists' for the New Marine Leisure Era

Recruitment of Participants for 2020 Marina Professional Training
Supporting Marina Industry Workforce Supply with Small and Medium Shipbuilding Research Institute

A trainee participating in the marina specialized workforce training program promoted by Busan City is practicing while receiving outboard motor maintenance training for recreational boats.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] With the advent of a new marine leisure era, a project to cultivate marina professionals in the maritime city of Busan is being actively promoted.

Busan City announced on the 10th that it will promote the "Busan Marina Professional Training Project" together with the Small and Medium Shipbuilding Research Institute to strengthen the competitiveness of the marina industry.

The city plans to spend 270 million KRW over three years until 2022 (135 million KRW from the city budget and 135 million KRW from private investment) to train a total of 40 marina professionals annually through four courses each year. Support will be provided through essential qualification acquisition for the marina industry and on-site training programs at industrial sites to promote employment and entrepreneurship.

The marina industry is a marine industry that creates new jobs based on marine tourism and leisure. It is a huge market with an annual global sales volume of 60 trillion KRW, and despite various adverse factors such as COVID-19, the market size has been stably maintained.

Busan is the center of marine leisure in Korea, with approximately 42 million annual visitors to its beaches, and water leisure activities such as sea tours, sea fishing, jet boating, yacht sailing, kayaking, and canoeing are steadily increasing.

Busan City previously selected the Small and Medium Shipbuilding Research Institute, equipped with specialized equipment, operators, and instructors, as the lead organization for marina personnel training. It has established a cooperative system with Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Pukyong National University, Youngsan University, Yacht Repair and Maintenance Association, and Korea Water Leisure Safety Association to carry out the marina professional training project. A total of 397 people completed the courses during the first phase of the project from 2017 to 2019.

This year, four educational programs will be operated to train 40 people in four courses: acquisition of Class 1 powered water leisure craft operator qualification (10 people), water rescue personnel training and qualification acquisition (10 people), outboard motor management for leisure vessels (10 people), and on-site training at marina industry sites (10 people).

Applicants who reside in Busan and are job seekers, aspiring entrepreneurs, prospective graduates, those expecting employment, or industry personnel can participate, with preference given to female participants. Those wishing to participate can apply through the Small and Medium Shipbuilding Research Institute Marine Education Center website by July 21.

Jo Yoo-jang, Director of the Tourism MICE Industry Bureau of Busan City, said, "We will continuously strive to cultivate the professionals necessary for fostering the marina industry to support the activation of marine leisure tourism so that Busan can develop beyond being the center of marine leisure tourism in Korea to become a global marine leisure tourism city."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.