PEOPLE are the lifeblood of shipping; shipping is the lifeblood of world trade. Recent headlines have focused on the seafarer repatriation crisis, however there’s another people challenge about to hit shipping hard — one that will impact all maritime businesses and at all levels. 

Shipping’s persistently low profile has made it much harder to attract the best talent from the worlds of finance, technology, business leadership and human resource management.

It is a skills crisis summed up like this: Unless you served at sea or know someone already within the maritime industry, it is unlikely you will be drawn to apply for a job, let alone a career, within it.

This matters more than at any time in the past 50 years.

That is because shipping has begun a transformation to sustainability. To be successful, this will depend on a slew of innovative technologies, a whole new mindset that aligns collaboration with competition, and a new approach to power and propulsion.

The skills needed to guide shipping towards sustainability build on existing expertise, but in many instances the digital technologies have not yet been created, the fuels have not yet been proven, the work tasks have not yet been identified.

How should the industry train for technologies, energy sources, and human resource skills that are still in the minds of futurists? How should shipping keep its collective workforce on the front foot, ready to engage in new projects? How can we attract specific skills from outside the industry to maintain the momentum behind transformation?

Among the speakers at the Lloyd’s List webinar 'People Power — Recruiting and Retaining Expertise for an Era of Transformation’ will be:

• Annelise Goldstein, Head of Human Resources, Maersk Tankers

• Raal Harris, Chief Creative Officer. Ocean Technologies Group

• Clare Pike, Head of Human Resources, Bureau Veritas Offshore & Marine

The discussion will focus on the skills and expertise required by sustainable shipping and the people we will need to bring on board — whether at sea or on shore, for the short or long term.

The webinar will cover recruitment, retention, through-career training, and the transfer of knowledge around the industry. It will address the role played by maritime universities and academies, professional institutes, and industry gatherings in incentivising the brightest talent at all levels.

As shipping moves towards a digitalised, decarbonised future, the importance of the expertise retained by each maritime business will start to have a critical impact on sustainability issues and on profitability.

Data will provide raw material and data analysis will provide actionable intelligence, but the decisions drawn from that intelligence will continue to be the responsibility of talented people. As shipping’s transformation to sustainability becomes a reality, the need to recruit and retain talent will mark out the best performing companies from those struggling to keep up.

The People Power — Recruiting and Retaining Expertise for an Era of Transformation webinar will be held on February 3. Further information and details on how to register can be found here.