USMMA CADET INTERNSHIP

Maritime Company senior management must be responsively involved with Cadets to ensure effective Sea Year and Internship experiences. Design a program with reward and motivation (tax reform, etc.) to integrate industry senior maritime management into Sea Year and Internship oversight. Get them to make time and have responsibility and accountability. The world of multi-discipline and motivated senior management need to “get involved”. Based on my leadership and start up experience of the Texas A & M at Galveston (TAMUG) Marine Transportation Internship Program, coupled with my senior management oversight of all Interns and Sea Year Cadets at the Falcon Fleet, I recommend, the USMMA Internship Program be removed from the Academic curriculum. Free up the needed credit hours and reduce associated staffing & admin. costs. The minimum time requirement to obtain any internship benefit should be four weeks. Less than four weeks is a waste of my, and my company’s, time, money and effort. Hence, I never approved two weeks Internships. The motivated Cadets that want to be a “Captain of Industry” will obtain an Internship and obtain them for four weeks. Non-participation by those uninterested Cadets will reduce the stress on USMMA.edu and the associated overhead and the maritime industry. Re-directing the saved federal dollars to those interested Cadets will provide a much higher return on investment and return on Internship. Recommend the statistics of past Internships be analyzed to identify Internship program improvement. USMMA Career Services personnel need to visit Maritime companies. Identify supportive companies. Train the senior management of the supportive companies. Remove the non-beneficial Internship companies. Do more than just “approve” the companies. Involve the Cadet in identifying beneficial companies and non-beneficial. Educate the interested Cadets regarding the importance and benefits and focus assets on those Cadets. If a Cadet does not want an Internship, do not force it as not only the Cadet, but the company will not enjoy the experience and evade opportunities for future Cadets.