contact with marine industries and other potential 
employers of the graduates.° 
The other Sea Grant program is the Marine Ad- 
visory Service. When the original Sea Grant legisla- 
tion was being drafted, there was concern about how 
to transfer research results into the hands of people 
who could use it, such as fishermen and ocean engi- 
neering firms. The model turned to was the county 
agricultural extension agent, and asa result the. 
legislation called for Sea Grant versions of these 
agents. In 1976 there were more than 225 such 
agents around the country, most of them attached to 
Sea Grant Colleges, and some attached to State 
agencies. During fiscal year 1976 and the transition 
quarter, $8,627,000 in Federal funds and $4,755,- 
000 in matching funds were spent on Marine Ad- 
visory Service activities.” 
Major Current issues 
There appears to be little controversy about the 
basic organization of marine vocational training sys- 
tems or about the Federal role. Nor is there much 
controversy concerning the Federal policy on voca- 
tional education in general. Perhaps this is because 
the present marine education system generally pro- 
vides the personnel that the country needs. One 
Teason may be that most areas of marine employ- 
ment are growing only slowly, though steadily. 
Another may be that many marine jobs require little 
specialized training, such as sales personnel; or skills 
readily available from the land-oriented workforce, 
such as those cf secretaries and other support per- 
sonnel; or the kinds of skills learned primarily on 
the job, such as in the case of fishermen and long- 
shoremen. 
However, there are several issues that have been 
discussed. One, previously mentioned, is whether 
the Federal Government should become more in- 
volved in the training of workers in such fields as 
offshore oil-drilling and ship construction—indus- 
tries where there are not only personnel shortages, 
but also strict Government regulation and increas- 
ingly sophisticated technology which require work- 
ers to be more skilled than ever. Proponents of a 
larger Federal role argue that increased involvement 
is necessary to ensure that the country has the skilled 
workers it needs in these fields. Critics argue not only 
that the traditional Federal role in this area has not 
been large, but also that the present decentralized 
system appears to be functioning reasonably well. 
They may ask for evidence of any case—even in the 
shipbuilding industry—where personnel shortages 
have been so bad that major projects were seriously 
delayed. It is jikeiy that any new Federal initiatives 
in this area will be joint Goverhment-industry efforts, 
with industry and local public and private schools 
administering the programs and the Federal Govern- 
ment providing special financial assistance and sup- 
port services. 
There has been some recent controversy about 
new Federal efforts to regulate marine personnel. To 
Sea Grant Annual Report op. cit. note 28, pp. 30-32. 
date, these debates have focused on Government ef- 
forts to regulate. operations, not training. The con- 
troversy over proposed Coast Guard and Occupa- 
tional Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) 
regulation of the commercial diving industry is an 
example. It is possible, however, that the debate may 
expand into discussions over whether to set mini- 
mum standards for such personnel as divers. 
There is some concern about the lack of detailed 
data on marine manpower supply and demand, an 
issue discussed earlier in the section on marine pro- 
fessional manpower. Some pilot studies of the marine 
manpower situation for given regions have been 
completed recently.°* Proponents of these studies 
consider the reports to be necessary if educators and 
students are to have a full understanding of current 
and projected manpower needs. They would like to 
see more studies performed, perhaps with Federal 
financial support. Critics of the reports are likely to 
question the reliability of the methodology and pro- 
jections. They also will ask whether existing informal 
communication aniong educators, industry officiais, 
and policy makers is not sufficient to meet the needs 
of the relatively small, close-knit oceans field. 
There appears to be little Federal interest at the 
moment in gathering detailed marine personnei 
statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the main 
agency involved in collecting employment data, does 
not generally make a distinction between marine and 
land-criented employment. However, there is some 
new interest in vocational personnel statistics in 
general: the Education Amendments of 1976 di- 
rected the Office of Education to establish a new 
National Occupational Information Coordinating 
Commiitee to help vocational educators and others 
seeking information. 
ie Sea Grant Annual Report, op. cit. note 28, pp. 35-41 
* Olympus Research Corporation. The New Enzland Region 
Marine Manpower Situation, 1974-1985. Boston, Olympus Ke- 
search Corporation, February 28. 1977. This report is part of 
the Marine Industry Education Project supported by the New 
England Regional Commission. See also: South Atlantic and 
Gulf Marine Manpower Project. Survey of Current and Future 
Manpower Requirements, 1977-1980. Jacksonville, Florida Junior 
Coliege, July 1977 This is a report to the Coastal Plains Com- 
mission. 
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