The African Union Maritime Strategy and South Africa’s Operation Phakisa are prioritising the ‘blue’/ocean-based economy, as the next investment and development frontier. However, while several reports, manifestos and pilot projects exist, limited attention focuses on ensuring a maritime future via education, training and research. To overcome disruption from increasing automation and digitisation for shipping, logistics and the future of general work, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) should revitalise maritime education, research and training through IT access; Cloud computing, ‘Big Data’, simulators, resources and changing students / lecturer / labour sector processes, especially for maritime education and training. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented demand for remote work and education via online and distance methods, with few existing sectors prepared. In direct response, this paper summarises insights discovered from a speaker at Africa’s first 4IR Summit in Durban 2019, Durban University of Technology, who shared his lecturing experience and advice at a policy level on Establishing Operation Phakisa (Dyer 2017). This paper overcomes Africa’s existing constraints to achieving the blue economy by evaluating existing education in a conceptual literature review. It provides a conceptual exploratory framework method through existing desktop studies and surveying 250 students in a South African case study to overcome existing gaps and maritime education / training challenges related to the 4IR. It focuses on the need to transform education, students and the economy to online and digitisation techniques, while expanding it to consider other emerging blue economy sectors in South Africa and beyond, to ensure sufficient supply and overcome a scarcity of demand. Pragmatic and policy implications include redirecting maritime education to assist stakeholders, minimise disruption costs and ensure a sustainable blue economy future as a prototype. As COVID-19 has provided unprecedented demand and new funds pledged, it remains essential to redirect these resources so maritime education, training and research can future-proof the local economy and people against increasing 4IR global disruption.

Keywords: maritime education and training; blue economy; fourth industrial revolution, maritime industry innovation, ocean economy education