Maritime Education and Training and Operational Efficiency in Cameroon's Maritime Transport Industry

An Empirical Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Workforce Development

Abstract

This study examines how workforce development moderates the effect of maritime education and training on operational efficiency in Cameroon's maritime transport industry. The study adopted a survey and causal research design, collecting primary data from a sample of 344 respondents drawn from maritime transport operators, port authority staff, maritime training instructors and trainees, and regulatory personnel across Cameroon's maritime sector, using a structured Likert-type questionnaire. The study employed purposive sampling to ensure adequate representation across institutions, educational backgrounds, and experience categories. Because the dependent variables, maritime workforce development and operational efficiency, were constructed as bounded indices, the data were analyzed using Tobit regression estimated by maximum likelihood, alongside descriptive and correlation analyses. The findings revealed that maritime workforce development in Cameroon remains relatively low. Safety and environmental training and curriculum design emerged as the factors most strongly associated with workforce development outcomes. Meanwhile, technological integration remains notably underdeveloped across maritime training institutions. Regarding operational efficiency, the results showed that skills development and career progression, when considered independently of workforce development, have significant negative effects on operational efficiency, whereas gender inclusion and workforce diversity have significant positive effects. Critically, the interaction analysis shows that workforce development significantly moderates these relationships: it substantially strengthens the positive effect of skills development and career progression on operational efficiency, weakens the effects of recruitment and gender inclusion, and does not significantly moderate the effect of workforce diversity. The study recommends that maritime training institutions and regulatory authorities in Cameroon prioritize the strengthening of curriculum design, safety and environmental training, and technological integration as foundations for workforce development, and that human resource interventions such as recruitment, career progression, and inclusion policies be deliberately aligned with workforce development systems to maximize their contribution to operational efficiency.