OPTIMIZATION OF INVESTMENTS IN THE TRAINING OF SEAFARERS
Authors:   Odessa National Maritime University, Kholodenko A. , Gontar A. , Shabatura Yu. ,   Odessa National Maritime University
Published: January 2023

Maritime transport provides more than 80 % of the world's international trade, so it is actively developing with the growth of production and economic connections between countries. On the other hand, the work of seafarers is quite difficult, associated with long-term separation from homes and risks, and therefore is not particularly popular among workers in developed countries, where high salaries can be obtained on shore.Thus, it is precisely for the population of developing countries that the labor market of seafarers is quite attractive, since the salaries within these countries are significantly inferior to the salaries of seafarers, in addition, such countries are characterized by a lack of jobs in the domestic labor market.At the same time, it should be noted that the unskilled labor market of seafarers (ordinary) is oversaturated (thanks to Asian countries), while the market for highly skilled labor of seafarers (officers) is scarce, where the salary is much higher, but the appropriate education is required.It is here that the advantages of Ukraine as a country with a fairly high general level of population and certain maritime traditions – and at the same time a low level of employment and especially wages within the country, which creates the attractiveness of maritime work for domestic workers – can be revealed. We can even say that an important export potential of Ukraine is precisely the work of domestic qualified specialists (in particular, seafarers – in connection with the loss of a significant part of the domestic fleet) abroad.In order to implement these advantages, to expand the training of seafarers (officers), it is necessary to develop the maritime education network of Ukraine, to substantiate the corresponding investment projects. The first fundamental feature of the products produced by the higher (qualified specialists) from ordinary products is that the manufacturer of ordinary products disposes of it himself – what part of the manufactured products to sell and at what price. The state, which prepares qualified personnel, does not dispose of its products –specialists themselves decide whether to work in the acquired specialty, depending on the amount of salary, tax rate, etc. (production has its own opinion).The second fundamental feature of products produced by higher education (qualified specialists) from ordinary products is that ordinary products are sold on the market only once (for products of long-term consumption, their resale is possible, but already on another – secondary – market). On the seamen's labor market, specialists offer themselves regularly, the offer is formed not only by newly graduated specialists, but also by graduates of previous years (production accumulates over time), so it is necessary to build a dynamic model.Taking into account these features, dynamic two- and three- factor optimization models of investments in the training of seafarers, taking into account their further behavior on the labor market, were built and analyzed, optimal values of the relevant indicators were found – tuition fees, number of students, educational investments, seafarers' wages.Keywords: features of higher education products, labor market, salary level, tax rate