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The study is based on a literature review of recent empirical research on crew resource management (CRM) training in the maritime industry, organised around what non-technical skills to learn and how.The review indicates that existing work is dominated by individualistic theories of learning with less focus on learning as a social process. Five main categories of skills that need to be trained are identified: assertiveness, decision-making, communication, situation awareness and team coordination. We argue that it is necessary to operationalise these broad concepts further, emphasising the work context and crew specific needs. The review also shows that a combination of classroom lectures and simulator-based exercises is commonly used in maritime education and training in these skills. The learning effect seems to be suffering from training programmes that are exported 'as is' from aviation and not adjusted to the maritime domain or to operation-specific needs. This paper also examines maritime crew resource management training from a social learning perspective, involving the view that learning is a context bound, social process that might take place in communities of practice (CoP).A CoP is a group (e.g. a crew) wherein members share an activity and learn from each other. It is argued that CRM training programmes will benefit from including a social learning perspective. Factors that enable the assessment of teams are discussed, and it is argued that the training should be tailored to existing crews, emphasising a learning environment as close to reality as possible.

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The theoretical contribution of this paper lies in introducing the concept of social fidelity to bridge the gap between computer technology and collaborative learning activities in simulator-based training. The concept has usually been limited to the technological aspects of simulator training with an assumption that a high level of fidelity equals a high physical resemblance between a simulator and the real work environment. The objective of this article is to expand the prevailing understanding of the concept of simulator fidelity and explore social factors that may influence perceived training quality among professional maritime officers. This qualitative study aims to broaden the scope from technological aspects to an emphasis on task and collaborative factors. The empirical material used is based on observations of two different simulator programs for professional maritime officers and focused interviews with bridge officers participating in the sampled training. The research aims to deepen the knowledge on how learning unfolds in a simulator-based training context characterised by extensive use of advanced computer technology and collaborative activities. The research demonstrates how trainer-trainee interactions, task factors and simulator technology may influence perceived level of fidelity and training quality. The article is concluded by offering a set of recommendations for future design of maritime simulator-based training.