In 2015, no girls were registered for a maritime training course at the Mercator Maritime Institute in Ostend. This school year, there are twelve girls among the 138 students, or 8.7 percent. Last year that was still 6.5 percent.
The number of girls who opt for training so that they can later work on and around the water is increasing year after year. “A job at sea is not only cool and cool for boys, more girls are also finding their way to the helm,” says Jan Denys, director of the Mercator Maritime Institute.