Overview of T-Shaped Professionals and Fisheries Conservation

To be successful in fisheries related careers in science, management, and non-governmental organizations, professionals increasingly need a variety of skills related to content expertise (depth) and self-awareness skills (breadth). Human resources programs often refer to the concept of T-shaped professionals to describe individuals who have both disciplinary expertise and self-awareness of a breadth of other concepts important for professional success. The T-shaped professional concept first appeared in the early 1990s from the business sector. Managers who could combine skills from a variety of fields were more successful at their work than disciplinary-only skills. In this presentation, I present an overview of key concepts for t-shaped professionals that reflect deep problem-solving as well as complex communication capabilities and introduce the symposium.