MAR30220 is the nationally recognised Certificate III behind deck hand work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2020, when it replaced MAR30218. About 31 deck hand jobs were advertised in June 2026, down 8% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate III in Maritime Operations (Integrated Rating) are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Deck hands are in national shortage. Job ads in June 2026 were down 8% on a year earlier and enrolments are falling. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting fewer deck hand jobs than a year ago. About 31 deck hand jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 8% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 400 job ads, while 190 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates deck hands as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Deck Hand as in national shortage; Fishing Hand as not in shortage.
Deck hand jobs are projected to stay about flat. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 6,299 workers in May 2025, 6,221 by May 2030 (down 1.2%) and 6,486 by May 2035 (up 3%).
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Maritime Operations (Integrated Rating) are dropping fast. Across Australia, 285 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 190, down 33.3% in a year. National data for MAR30220 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for MAR30220 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The register lists 17 core units for the Certificate III in Maritime Operations (Integrated Rating), plus 10 elective options. One unit has prerequisites, marked below.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps MAR30220 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 8992) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register training.gov.au, synced 16 September 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.