Journal of Shipping and Ocean Engineering 10 (2020) 18-28 Doi: 10.17265/2159-5879/2020.02.002 Millennial Seafarers as Today and Tomorrow’s Generation of Marine Officers: Implications and Future Directions Emeliza T. Estimo, Elisa V. Garcia, Zayber B. Araya, Kyle M. Flores, Sirzyrus Vench P. Estrabo, and John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, Iloilo City, Philippines Abstract: The maritime industry is lined with people who belong to the millennials. This generation currently supplies the constant demand for a stable workforce who can keep pace with the expanding needs and expectations of the industry. Since human resource is as crucial as the modern equipment and technology that keep the vessels running, it is also imperative that equal importance must be given to initiatives that are designed to develop the full potential of our present and future generations of seafarers. This study provides research-based data on the general description of their traits and characteristics as derived from four different perspectives — their self-perception and the perceptions of their senior officers, their crewmates, and their shipping companies who have worked side by side with them. This paper also rationalizes how their dominant characteristics can be positively maximized and utilized in the workplace and what initiatives can be done to help them succeed as effective and efficient marine officers. Key words: Millennial seafarers, characteristic, traits. 1. Introduction Corresponding author: Emeliza T. Estimo, Ph.D., Research Coordinator; research fields: maritime education and training, gender equality and cultural awareness, human factors in the maritime industry, seafarers’ wellness and well-being. More generations of seafarers in the maritime industry come into the picture, each generation endowed with a unique set of traits and characteristics that may influence the way they behave with others and the way they respond to situations and circumstances around them. This phenomenon raises the issue of “generational gap”, which according to Caesar, Cahoon, and Fei (2015) [1], affects the retention of seafarers and influences the progressive mobility of ship officers to landside jobs. The disparity in the level of expectations between the younger and older generations in the seafaring industry has become apparent [2]; hence, the need for industry employers to critically scrutinize these differences to address problems on seafarer retention. Currently, millennial seafarers constitute most of the workforce. This is the generation of people, also known as Generation Y, who are born in the early 80s to early 1990s. What does this generation of seafarers have in common? What does the industry need to understand about them as part of the cycle of life at work onboard multi-crewing vessels? How can our knowledge of their traits and characteristics shed light on handling human resource problems and issues relating to this generation of seafarers? By examining across various sources, we can learn that the millennials are wired with positive as well as negative characteristics. Their motivation is built around personal and professional growth, more specific feedback, personalized/customized attention, empowerment, need for freedom and flexibility, and meaningfulness [3]. Another source points out that their choices are identified with five predominant themes — work, life, balance, good pay and benefits, opportunities for advancement, meaningful work experiences, and nurturing work environment [4]. D DAVID PUBLISHING