The Canadian Marine Careers Foundation (CMCF) has announced the launch of the Imagine Marine job board, a new national platform that facilitates connections between career seekers and the marine sector. This comprehensive and user-friendly job board aims to streamline the job search process while promoting diverse marine opportunities across Canada in the face of a wave of retirements.
As 43% of the marine workforce is set to retire over the next 10 years, an estimated 19,000 jobs will need to be filled just onboard Canadian vessels, with many more openings in onshore roles. The bilingual (English & French) job board is one part of the CMCF’s workforce development toolkit that seeks to address this coming shortage, as well as the need to fill in-demand positions that exist today.
The job board is dedicated to all parts of the marine sector – whether onboard a vessel, in a port or ship/boat yard, in an office, college or research facility or in marine services and supplier businesses. CMCF members can use the platform for free, while non-member marine employers across the country have various posting purchase options to showcase their organizations and job openings, and to attract qualified candidates.
“Awareness of the many well-paying and rewarding careers in the marine sector remains extremely low among young Canadians and second career seekers. The foundation is dedicated to changing that reality and is already driving people into our Imagine Marine portal to learn about the types of careers and education and training opportunities available. Now, they can take the next step and apply for open positions all in the same place,” says Julia Fields, Executive Director of the CMCF.
The job board is an integral part of the CMCF’s wider strategic initiatives aimed at increasing career awareness in partnership with student-facing and employment organizations, fostering workforce excellence, diversity and inclusion, and providing valuable decision-making data within the marine sector. The CMCF is actively developing various other resources to support this mission, including the Imagine Marine portal, the engaging Live Your Best Career video series, and continuous educational outreach efforts.
The Foundation is committed to creating a thriving and sustainable workforce by encouraging individuals to purposefully choose marine careers. A standout feature of the Imagine Marine job board is its automated scraping technology. The scraper automatically pulls and posts job openings from platforms such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and organization-specific career pages. This “set and forget” approach ensures that the job board remains up to date with the latest opportunities. Every new posting is shared on Google Jobs, maximizing visibility and reaching a wide audience who may not have previously considered the marine industry.
As the job board grows, the Foundation plans to launch a talent network for job seekers to showcase their skills and profiles, while recruiters can search and connect with exceptional talent.
For more information, visit imagine-marine.ca
(Photo CSMOIM)
