An investigation on the professionalization of education in Maritime logistics and supply chains

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the development of logistics and supply chain education through conducting comparative study between high diploma and associate degree. This study will critically review the added value of sub-degree courses of professional education. What exactly drives sub-degree students to enroll for a high diploma and associate degree program in maritime logistics and supply chain studies? How do they select to enroll such programs? Do such programs foster the students to equip in the professions? What do they look for obtaining professional status afterwards? Design/methodology/approach - To address the stated queries, this study will analyze students' evaluation of the effectiveness of sub-degree education and their motivation on enrolling these courses through a questionnaire survey. Findings - In the context of higher education, sub-degrees of professional studies experienced tremendous growth in recent decades. Many academic institutions have recorded an upward trend in providing professional education on subjects that traditionally focused on apprentice-style, non-academic learning approach. However, the reasons behind the steady growth of the demand of sub-degree level of professional education have been under-researched. Research limitations/implications - This research is based on Hong Kong data only. Originality/value - The paper not only increases the scope and depth of research area in logistics and supply chain education but also contributes theoretically to the understanding on the curriculum of subdegree logistics and supply chain programs.