Bridging Competency Standards and Workplace Readiness in Maritime Technical and Vocational Education and Training: A Structured Literature Review

Maritime technical and vocational education and training (TVET) must reconcile internationally regulated competence, occupational performance, and rapid technological change. This structured literature review critically synthesises evidence concerning competency-based curriculum, simulation, assessment, onboard learning, instructor capability, emerging digital and environmental skills, and institutional policy conditions. A targeted search of scholarly and institutional sources was conducted for publications principally dated 2014–2026, followed by criterion-based selection of 17 illustrative peer-reviewed studies and separate consideration of policy and regulatory documents. Findings were synthesised narratively rather than statistically. Six interrelated findings emerged: the productive but unresolved tension between vocational and academic learning; the dependence of simulation outcomes on pedagogy and scenario design; limitations in the validity and transfer of competency assessments; structural constraints on onboard training; instructor-capability requirements; and curriculum pressures from automation, information literacy, and alternative fuels. The evidence is strongest for describing educational practices and persistent challenges, but remains less conclusive regarding long-term occupational outcomes. An integrated competency-development framework is proposed linking international and national standards to theory, guided practice, workplace experience, triangulated assessment, and continuous industry feedback. For Malaysia, mapping STCW competencies against relevant occupational standards may offer a research and development pathway, subject to formal regulatory validation. Because the review was selective rather than exhaustive, its findings describe recurring evidence themes rather than the prevalence or causal effects of educational interventions.