ABSTRACT
In spite of rapid growth in demand which has stimulated new designs, new buildings and new levels of customer service in European ferry markets in recent years, less attention has been paid to the education and training requirements of the managers of these services. In an era of change, managers need to be fully prepared to face new challenges. This paper reviews some of the areas in which staff competence may need to be developed, and proposes a soft systems approach to defining their education and training needs. It is found that in developing their skills in both the cognitive and affective domains, there is a case for encouraging managers to seek further classroom based study. The implications of the approach, both in terms of defining desirable course outcomes and highlighting the measures which are likely to entice managers into the classroom are discussed.
