Maritime professionals need to be up- and reskilled on a large scale. Rapid emerging techno- logies, digital transformation on ships and in ship operations, and an increased focus on sus- tainability require future-proof skills. As an outcome of European Union funded project SkillSea a new maritime skills strategy is delivered. It provides stakeholders guidance as it is recom- mended that curricula of maritime education and training providers adapt to these trends, and that modern technology and skills must be used to repositioning maritime shipping professions.

Project SkillSea started four-and-a-half years ago with the aim to ensure that Europe’s maritime professionals possess key digital, green, and soft management skills for the rapidly changing maritime labour market. SkillSea not only searched to produce a sustainable skills strategy, but also looked for ways to increase the number of maritime professionals - enhancing the safety and efficiency of this vital sector. SkillSea has brought together social partners, maritime industry, trade unions, research orga- nisations, maritime academies and universities, education and training providers, and public authorities.

The recommended repositioning of maritime shipping professions is also needed to give newcomers to the labour market a prospective career and that they can apply their talent in innovation, widen their knowledge on sustainability issues and deepen their mastery of digitalisation. When appropriately integrated in maritime education and training, including life-long learning, new skills support mobility and can enhance the attractiveness of a career in shipping.

MET-NET

As a direct project outcome of SkillSea nine leading European maritime education and training providers have launched the Maritime Education and Training Network (MET-NET). This network aims to provide current and future maritime professionals with the best possible education. By participating in MET-NET, education providers can benefit from access to valuable resources, increased visibility, and networking opportunities to ensure high quality of trained maritime personnel. MET-NET is open to all European maritime education and training providers.

MET-NET was launched today in Brussels during the closing conference of SkillSea, the pan-European project for future-proof skills in maritime transport, funded by Europe’s Erasmus+ programme. In the past four-and-a-half-years 26 partners of 15 European countries worked together to ensure that Europe’s maritime professionals possess key digital, green, and soft management skills for the rapidly changing maritime labour market.

 Within SkillSea a set of educational packages is produced, including a toolbox to develop more educational material. MET-NET is a project outcome to strengthen the developed strategy for sustain- able skills. The network is supported by “founding partners” STC Group (Rotterdam, the Netherlands), École Nationale Supérieure Maritime (Le Havre, France), Svendborg International Maritime Academy (Svenborg, Denmark), Liverpool John Moores University (Liverpool, United Kingdom), University of Rijeka (Rijeka, Croatia), Constanta Maritime University (Constanta, Romania), Maritime Business School of Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany), Estonian Maritime Academy (Tallinn, Estonia), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway).

Source, STC Group.