BOATS & GEAR Workforce Development
Help Wanted
Plenty of opportunities at Maine Maritime’s Fall Career Fair in 2021.
By Michael Crowley, Correspondent
T
o say the last two years have been tough would be a mild description of Covid’s impact on Florida Marine Transporters in Mandeville, La., a company with over 100 towboats, 250 tank barges and 350 dry barges that’s actively engaged in inland and coastal transportation. “It affected us a lot,” said Timmy Callais, Florida Marine’s vice president operations, dry cargo, while adding that the situation “has gotten better.” Callais said the Covid outbreak led to older members of the company’s workforce electing to stay home, and they haven’t been coming back. Some took early retirement, and some went looking for different jobs, “instead of riding the boats.” Callais said others were lured away from working on inland waterway vessels by government stimulus checks. “That’s what killed us; [We] had people that went home to get that and stayed home.” The effect was immediate, he said, because “the workforce in the maritime industry is very slim and it’s hard to get young people involved in our industry.”
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BED JUMPERS Florida Marine has recruiters out trying to replenish the company’s workforce and operates a training school for those Callais refers to as green hands. “They stay on campus for two weeks, like they are riding the boat,” he said. “They don’t go home at night. They cook and clean and do the chores they would be doing if riding the boat.” Are there any incentives that have worked to help retain experienced crews or bring in new hires? “Not really,” Callais said. “Right now it’s money, not who has the newest barges or the newest boats. It’s a big shortage with people just bouncing around from one company to another for more money. You get them, then the next guy that pays more, they jump. It’s a price war.” Callais has a name for those who chase the money: he calls them bed jumpers. Whoever pays the highest price that’s where the bed jumpers end up. That money game makes it difficult for a company like Florida Marine Transporters because, as Callais noted, “the rates don’t support our throwing all the money out there.” One part of the transportation business that Callais feels can currently come up with the money is the grain industry. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat
Maine Maritime Academy
Employees have the upper hand in the current maritime work environment.
