The Maritime Transport Sector is currently undergoing immense changes and finds itself in a paradox situation:
- There is still an urgent need for young people to enter into the professions of seafarers
- “The employment demand in the Maritime Sector is set to more than double by 2030 … but the maritime workforce is aging and young people are no longer attracted to maritime careers” (EU Commission SWD (2017) 130final).
- “Whether in traditional or emerging maritime sectors, businesses cannot find the desired workforce, skills and profiles and stakeholders are recommended to increase attractiveness to its rapidly evolving needs” (Ecorys, Study supporting a possible network of maritime training academies and institutes in the Mediterranean sea basin, 2016).
- “… in OECD countries as estimated by ISF/BIMCO, the shortage of officers shows a gap of 45 000 between supply and demand for officers, and of 145 000 for ratings.” (EU Commission, MOVE/C1/2010/148/SI2.588190).
- But the future employment for seafarers and their career perspectives are very uncertain and unclear
- The unmanned remote or autonomous ship is on the horizon and related policy discussions are high on the agenda of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), EU institutions such as DG Mare, DG Move and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and most European and National Maritime stakeholders and interest groups. The roadmaps indicate that the first remote controlled commercial ship could hit the water by 2020, in only 2 years time (Rolls Royce white paper “Remote and Autonomous Ships”, 2016).
- EMSA estimates that there are 254.000 seafarers in the EU (EMSA, Seafarers statistics in the EU, 2014) and between 25,000 and 35,000 students in Maritime Education and Training (MET). All of them will be affected by the current technological developments.
This uncertainty especially affects young seamen and maritime trainees and makes it a difficult decision for youth to enter this sector and maritime VET training.