The issue targeted by Sea Corps is unlike any concern our young people have ever experienced. Students who graduate from high schools or receive GEDs today are not enrolling in post-secondary institutions, and the ones who do enroll in college are amassing unprecedented amounts of debt that leave devastating financial results in its wake. According to Forbes, in 2023 the total postsecondary enrollment continues to be substantially low, down about 1.09 million students overall and about 1.16 million undergraduates alone, compared to spring 2020. The numbers are not any more encouraging for older students, as higher education enrollment of older students (those older than 24 years) is eroding, with a total decline of 3.3% among this age group.
While the numbers show an exodus from the traditional, “college route” to success among young people, the ones who maintain this trajectory are ending up with debt that takes a lifetime to overcome. Total student debt in the U.S. has nearly tripled in the past 15 years, from more than $619 billion in quarter one of 2008 to more than $1.77 trillion in quarter one of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve. With this massive amount of debt, students struggle to pay back loans, buy homes, or establish good credit. Some even leave school without attaining their degree due to the financial stress of attending college.
Sea Corps mission is to address and target the issue that has presented itself and represents the vital crossroad at which our young people are found today. With fewer young people attending post-secondary institutions, and the amount of financial burden that comes with that attendance, Sea Corps is providing safety and security for our young people in training, licensing, and job placement into a vibrant and growing maritime industry. A graduate of Sea Corps program will be a licensed mariner, and member of an industry that allows hard-working young people to travel all over the globe while offering federal job security, hands-on training, and career advancement opportunities. Other advantages include diversity of fleet and platforms, overtime pay, flexible career paths, service to country and the camaraderie that comes with life at sea. Our Sea Corps cadet will be prepared to work in commercial shipping as well as the private sector, and enjoy the exciting adventure of sailing with private yachts and luxury boats chartered to the most exotic parts of the globe.
