Assessing the seafaring intention of maritime students in Hong Kong

Seafaring as a matter of human resources is one of important shipping policies in a country. Many developed countries are facing the problems of shortage of qualified and skilled seafarers for their maritime industries. Although previous researches tried to unravel the scarce seafarer dilemma, there are very few studies especially in the discussion of the factors affecting the intention to work on-board or go seafaring. This research investigates the effects of shipping knowledge, attitude and reference group opinions on the intention of maritime students to work on-board basing on the knowledge, attitude and intention (KAI) model. Using questionnaire surveys collected from 243 students studying in the maritime and logistics related departments at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Maritime Services Training Institute (MSTI) in Hong Kong. This research finds that the attitude and reference group opinions positively influence students' intention to work on-board. Although the research hypothesis of the direct influence of shipping knowledge on the intention to work on-board was not supported. Specifically, this research finds the indirect influence of shipping knowledge and reference group opinions on students' on-board intention through attitude. This research provides a comprehensive insight to understand the determinants of students' on-board intention. Managerial and theoretical implications from the research findings are discussed in this research.