6 areas to make the maritime industry more attractive

At the Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit in New York, young maritime professionals discussed what actions need to be taken for the maritime industry to attract future generations. Improving human sustainability will be imperative to help the industry appeal to and retain future talent – an issue increasingly pressing for the resiliency of the entire maritime value chain.

As an extension to this year’s Future Maritime Leaders essay competition, the Global Maritime Forum recently hosted a youth seminar, bringing together the top 30 essay writers from 2022, and previous years’ winners. The findings of the seminar were the topic of a fruitful discussion at the Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit in New York. Four powerful essay competition winners articulated how the industry can respond to the call from the youth.

The discussion featured Apurva Chaubal, 24, Associate Voyage Manager with Maersk Tankers from Mumbai, India, Shaharaj Ahmed, 22, student at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, from the Philippines, James Helliwell, 27, Project Engineer with Shell in London, UK, and Camille Simbulan, 32, Special Projects and Communications Head, Associated Marine Officer’s and Seamen’s Union, Philippines. They stressed six areas where improvement is needed: the need for improved diversity, clarification of the purpose and values in the industry, creating more flexibility in maritime workplaces, making sure the industry is more inclusive to all, ensuring decent working conditions, and, last but not least, shaping and visualizing stronger long-term career prospects including transitions between sea and shore.

“The maritime industry must start actively engaging with and investing in the next generation of seafarers if it wants to keep supply chains intact over the next decades. Young people today are very dynamic, empowered and are genuinely passionate about using their talents to create a positive impact. They will go where they feel valued, respected, and inspired, so the maritime industry needs to step up,” says Camille Simbulan, Special Projects and Communications Head, Associated Marine Officer’s and Seamen’s Union, Philippines.

In May 2022, the Global Maritime Forum launched the All Aboard Alliance, a platform for collaborative action to make the maritime industry more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. One of the major challenges is the fact that Gen Z and Millennials are expected to make up more than 70% of the total workforce by 2030, making it crucial that the industry listens when they raise their voices, says Susanne Justesen, Project Director, Human Sustainability at the Global Maritime Forum.

“I am very pleased to experience such a strong engagement from the Future Maritime Leaders. There is so much value to gain from involving the younger generations in decision-making about the future of the maritime industry. We just need to give them a seat at the table,” says Susanne Justesen.

This year’s Future Maritime Leaders essay competition asked participants to reflect on what key issues and challenges the maritime industry must overcome to improve its approach to human sustainability.