The industry’s £47bn turnover is greater than aerospace, pharmaceutical and road freight combined, yet it often suffers from a low profile. 

UK maritime minister Nusrat Ghani says: “Seafarers Awareness Week shines a spotlight on the breadth of career opportunities the sector has to offer – from captains and engineers, to dockers and deep-sea divers.

“This year we have doubled the funding for Merchant Navy Officer Cadet training so that more young people can pursue exciting, rewarding careers in maritime.”

However, the industry must gear up so that it has the skills it needs for the future, says Gordon Meadow, associate professor at Solent University, home of maritime training institution Warsash Academy in Southampton. According to Meadow, autonomous ships without any on-board crew are a hot topic in the industry. 

But according to Meadow: “Autonomous ships won’t mean no seafarers. People are still needed, just differently, in different ways and more importantly, with very different skills.”

At the moment, Meadow is working on two ‘virtual reality’ projects, examining the immersive technologies that will allow a crew to perform the typical duties in the engine room required for continuous ship operation at a remote location, instead of in situ.

Commodore Barry Bryant, director general of Seafarers UK, a charity for seafarers and their families, adds: “The pace of technological change today is so dramatic that teachers are undoubtedly preparing children for roles that don’t exist yet. Who knows what the next 50 years holds for the industry; advanced technology, autonomy and robotics, greater care for the environment, cyber security, and marine science will certainly all be key drivers.”

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