Mrs Gertrude Ohene-Asienim, the Chief Executive Officer for the West Africa School of Shipping and Whitestone Shipbrokers Limited, has encouraged companies operating in the maritime sector to prioritize continuous training for their staff. Mrs Ohene-Asienim said such continuous training would keep them abreast of modern trends and developments in the ever-evolving maritime industry. Speaking at a Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) media forum, she said the expectations on maritime service providers in the sector were both economic, social, environmental, and political, adding that for these demands to be met, commitment must be given to continuous learning and unlearning. She said companies must see it as a necessity and make budgetary allocations for continuous professional development (CPD) of employees every year, noting that equipping the companies' human resources with new knowledge and modern ways of doing things would have a direct impact on improvement in productivity, and the attraction of international clients. She noted that an assessment must be done on staff by the companies to inform them of the type of continuous training they need to enhance their capabilities in the role given to them. Mrs Ohene-Asienim said the West Africa School of Shipping offers a wide range of maritime training programs, which maritime companies could take advantage of to equip their staff with the requisite knowledge. She said continuous professional development is not limited to industry-specific technical training, but personal soft skills should be added for holistic development. She reminded companies to train their employees to use artificial intelligence, as the world is currently leaning towards artificial intelligence, digital marketing, cloud-based systems, remote operations, occupational health, safety, and environmental consciousness, among others. Source: Ghana News Agency