Ten First Nations maritime students have just become Australia’s newest deckhands thanks to our 2023 Get Into Maritime programme.

Developed in partnership with TAFE NSW and the Sea Heritage Foundation, Get Into Maritime helps students develop hands-on, job-ready maritime skills.

22-year-old Loren Lazarevic has dreamed of joining the Australian Navy since he was six years old – and now he’s one step closer with the skills and confidence to apply for next year’s intake and the qualification to work on a near coastal vessel as a deckhand across the country.

“Ever since I was a boy, I’ve loved all things maritime. The experiences I’ve had through Get Into Maritime have helped me develop life-saving skills like sea survival, firefighting and CPR,” he said.

“Before I started the program, I had people tell me that they didn’t think I could finish it or even do it at all – but I’ve been able to prove them wrong."

"I used to think that the career I wanted to do was very far away, but now I am very close to what I want to achieve,” added Loren.

For Dean Delia, Director of Young People, Prince's Trust Australia, helping the students learn enterprise and life skills, including understanding the career opportunities available to them, is just as important as gaining maritime skills.

"Nearly 90% of the students reported major improvements in their innovation, team work, self-management and problem solving skills and 100% said their communication skills improved significantly."

For teacher Adam, Get Into Maritime is an opportunity to inspire the next generation of maritime workers.

“I started my career at 16 years old doing the same course at TAFE NSW, and it took me to jobs all around the world. It’s an incredible opportunity to now be part of training the next generation and imparting my passion for the industry and my learnings to them,” he said.

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First Sentier Investors are proud supporters of the 2023 Get Into Maritime project.