Integration of soft skills into the program of maritime English

Abstract

The shipping industry is regulated by international laws with the stakeholders significantly influencing the standards of international transport systems and, therefore, demands highly qualified specialists. The introduction of digital technologies, automatization of working processes, and globalization of international maritime trade create new challenges and increase the requirements for the mariners’ professional competences, thus impacting the training of future specialists.

The latest studies on the current trends and the long-term prospects indicate the need to acquire new professional skills to support the shipping industry’s sustainable development. The stakeholders are increasingly recognizing the influence of human factors on the efficiency of the processes aboard ships and emphasize the urgent need for an overhaul of maritime education. The focus on the soft skills training aims to contribute to the formation of future leaders and improve the quality of seafarers’ professional training. Thus, there is a need to substantiate the importance of soft skills for a successful career in the maritime industry and to describe the methods to integrate them into the educational process.

The authors acknowledge that the concept of “soft skills” proposed by national and foreign researchers varies in their characteristics. Based on the analysis of scholarly papers, we have formulated the “soft skills” definition appropriate for our research. We define “soft skills” as individual psychological and behavioral properties that are realized in interpersonal interaction and contribute significantly to its effectiveness.The purpose of the article is to present some approaches to integrating soft skills into Maritime English program at a higher educational institution.To determine the primary directions of soft skills development, the authors have analyzed the latest international projects, conducted by maritime experts. We consider the integration of soft skills into the Maritime English course to be one of the most suitable approaches since the teaching methods and the course learning materials are aimed specifically at the development of effective interpersonal communication skills.The information presented in the paper can be useful for researchers and educators, who are interested in soft skills embedding into educational programs.