Maritime UK has been awarded £100,000 in grant funding from the Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB) on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT) to deliver a Maritime Roadshow for Girls throughout 2023.
The roadshow will aim to encourage Key Stage 3 girls to choose STEM subjects and to give the students greater awareness of career opportunities across the maritime industry.
DfT’s latest investment in delivering Maritime 2050 builds upon their work to establish the Maritime Skills Commission, Diversity in Maritime Taskforce, and Careers Taskforce in partnership with Maritime UK.
Each roadshow, held across all nations and regions of the UK, will offer students the chance to take part in speed networking with a Maritime UK Industry Ambassador and will feature a series of hands-on STEM activities.
Students will receive information about the maritime sector and the schools will be supported with follow-up activities to increase the impact of the event. The events are designed to support the schools with their careers education, information, and guidance (CEIAG) programmes.
Events are being planned across the UK with activity scheduled in Hull, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Cornwall, Fleetwood, Southampton, Wales, London, Belfast, Barrow, and the Midlands. The first Roadshow event will take place in Hull on 7th March during National Careers Week (6th – 11th March 2023).
Maritime UK’s roadshow builds upon the previous activity by the 1851 Trust, which ran a similar roadshow. The series saw 1,400 girls from 90 schools taking part. An impressive 70% of them said that they felt inspired to think differently about their future careers.
Jess Huxley, Maritime UK Programme Executive (Careers & Outreach), said:
The maritime industry is going through huge changes as we work towards Maritime 2050. It is vital that we have a pipeline of future talent from all regions and all backgrounds to fill the demand. This will only be possible by making young people aware of the opportunities available
For his part, Stuart Rivers, Chief Executive of the MNWB, added that “the sector has so much to offer and it’s crucial that the next generation are aware of the opportunities available – and this roadshow is a great step to achieving that”.
It will also pave the way to encouraging more women to join the industry which has always been male dominated. Latest figures show out of the world’s 1.2 million seafarers only two per cent are women, and that desperately needs to change
