Canadian Marine Careers Foundation

What Canadian Marine Careers Foundation does

Canadian Marine Careers Foundation (CMCF) is a federally incorporated Canadian non-profit foundation headquartered in Ottawa that operates as the national coordinating body for marine sector workforce development in Canada. Founded with a small team of 1-10 employees, the organization runs the Imagine Marine campaign — a unified initiative that engages youth, career changers, and equity-deserving groups through digital career exploration tools, an employer job board, educational resource directories, and funding/bursaries information for marine-related studies.

CMCF's core product surface spans four pillars: (1) awareness and career exploration content delivered through the imagine-marine.ca website, Explore Marine interactive platform, social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube), career videos, and an interactive career quiz; (2) a self-serve job board connecting marine employers with candidates; (3) research outputs including the first-of-its-kind Canadian Seafarers Pathway Study (commissioned 2024, released 2025) quantifying national and regional labour market shortages, plus a National Youth Survey on Millennial/Gen Z perceptions of marine careers; and (4) the annual Imagine Marine Conference convening marine employers, training institutions, and career seekers. The underlying technology is a content/website platform with associated digital tools rather than a proprietary software product.

The business model is a non-profit foundation structure funded through industry consortium contributions, government grants, association sponsorships, and partner support. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The customer base is multi-sided: marine employers and industry stakeholders (domestic vessel operators, ferry operators, port authorities) are the demand-side funders and end-beneficiaries of workforce pipeline output; training institutions (colleges, universities, marine training centres) receive labour market intelligence; government policymakers consume evidence for workforce development policy; and youth, job seekers, and career changers receive free resources and career guidance. CMCF operates under a partnership network of 50+ industry, labour, education, and government organizations including Chamber of Marine Commerce, Council of Marine Carriers, BC Ferries, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Master Mariners of Canada, CAMTI, and Lloyds Register Foundation, and is PIPEDA-compliant in its handling of personal information.

Name

Canadian Marine Careers Foundation

Legal name

Canadian Marine Careers Foundation

Website

https://imagine-marine.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Canadian Marine Careers Foundation is an Ottawa-based non-profit that operates the Imagine Marine campaign, connecting youth, job seekers, and career changers with marine employers through career exploration tools, a national job board, and research-driven workforce programs supported by 50+ industry and government partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Workforce Development

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Navigation, Seamanship & Offshore Operations (EDAOANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant Marine & Deck Operations (EDAOANAA), Marine Engineering & Engine Room Operations (EDAOANAB), Maritime Safety, Security & Compliance (STCW/ISM/ISPS) (EDAOANAD)

Keywords

• Marine workforce development
• Career exploration platform
• Labour market research
• Marine industry recruitment
• Workforce training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Non-profit Foundation Operations: CMCF operates as a national non-profit organization funded by industry stakeholders, government grants, and consortium contributions. Revenue is generated through membership programs, sponsorships, and partnerships rather than product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CMCF operates the national "Imagine Marine" campaign to promote careers in Canada's marine transportation sector. It provides career exploration tools, a job board, educational and training resources, funding/bursary information, and proprietary labour market research (including the Canadian Seafarers Pathway Study) to connect job seekers with marine employers, training institutions, and policymakers.

Product overview

The Canadian Marine Careers Foundation (CMCF) operates the Imagine Marine Campaign as its primary initiative—a unified platform promoting careers in Canada's marine transportation sector. The offering includes career exploration tools (career quiz, videos, interactive platform), a job board connecting employers with candidates, educational resources about training programs and institutions, and funding information for marine studies. CMCF also produces research reports including the Canadian Seafarers Pathway Study and National Youth Survey to inform workforce development strategies. The organization works with over 50 industry, labour, education, and government partners to build a diverse and future-ready workforce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Imagine Marine Campaign
• Canadian Seafarers Pathway Study A comprehensive, first-of-its-kind labour market report revealing critical workforce shortages in Canada's marine transportation sector, providing national and regional analysis of workforce trends, recruitment challenges, training capacity, and evidence-based recommendations.
• National Youth Survey A study exploring how Canadian Millennials and Gen Z perceive careers in the marine transportation industry, providing insights into youth career priorities, values alignment, and barriers to entry into the marine sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86% of employers report difficulty recruiting, with over 3,600 seafaring positions unfilled in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Chamber of Marine CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor industry association providing funding and strategic support for CMCF's Canadian Seafarers Pathway Study and workforce development initiatives.
• Council of Marine CarrierscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry organization representing marine carriers that co-sponsored the labour market research study and supports workforce development initiatives.
• Laurentian Pilotage AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agency that provided funding for the Canadian Seafarers Pathway Study and participates in workforce development initiatives.
• Master Mariners of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association of maritime officers providing expertise and support for marine career initiatives.
• British Columbia Coast PilotscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaritime pilots organization contributing to workforce research and supporting career pathways in the Pacific region.
• BC FerriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor ferry operator providing funding for labour market research and supporting marine workforce development.
• Vancouver Fraser Port AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPort authority contributing funding and strategic support for marine sector workforce initiatives.
• Western Marine Community CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of Western Canadian marine organizations supporting workforce development initiatives.
• Canadian Association of Maritime Training Institutes (CAMTI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of marine training institutions working with CMCF on training capacity and career pathway development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Marine Insight: India-based private company publishing maritime career guidance, training information, and news content; less institutional than CMCF (private for-profit model) but addresses the same problem of low youth awareness of maritime career pathways, particularly with prospective seafarers.

Broad incumbents

• American Maritime Partnership (AMP): US maritime industry coalition advocating for the US-flag maritime sector, with workforce development and crewing issues integral to its policy work — comparable as a national industry-led convening voice on marine workforce issues in the North American context.
• Society of Maritime Industries (SMI): UK trade association covering marine engineering, equipment, and services with active programmes on skills and workforce development; broader than CMCF but pursues a parallel skills-promotion and industry-coordination mission that overlaps with CMCF's mandate.
• Canadian Marine Industries and Shipbuilding Association (CMISA): Canadian national industry association for the marine sector; while broader in scope (shipbuilding, defence, supply chain), it conducts related workforce and skills advocacy and serves as a coordinating body — making it the closest in-country functional analogue to CMCF's industry convener role.

Direct peers

• Maritime UK: UK national maritime industry body that performs a parallel workforce promotion and skills agenda through initiatives like Maritime UK Careers, engaging youth and government on marine workforce supply — functionally the closest international equivalent to CMCF's Imagine Marine campaign.
• Marine Industries Australia: Australian peak industry body for the marine sector, operating nationally with a workforce and skills development mandate including youth engagement and policy advocacy — directly comparable as a non-profit promoting marine careers in another English-speaking market.
• The Marine Society: UK-based seafarer education and welfare charity providing training scholarships, library services, and professional development for seafarers — directly comparable in mission (supporting the maritime workforce through education and pathways) though smaller and more UK-focussed than CMCF.
• The Seamen's Church Institute (SCI): Historic US non-profit serving merchant mariners through education, credentialing, career resources, and welfare services — operates a parallel mission of supporting seafarer recruitment, training pathways, and workforce resilience, making it a close functional peer in the maritime workforce space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/imaginemarine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCVhPxOq6iHha8a4Rr5d2k2g
• Facebookfacebook.com/imaginemarineCMCF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canadian-marine-careers-foundation-fondation-de-l-industrie-maritime-canadienne
• Instagraminstagram.com/imagine.marine

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Canadian Marine Careers Foundation