The UK Chamber of Shipping announced that a campaign, bringing seafarers into classrooms and careers fairs, is growing in popularity and has been nominated for an award. Over 310 volunteers are currently involved in Careers at Sea’s Ambassadors campaign, which provides information about careers in the Merchant Navy to schools and careers fairs across the UK.
The volunteers, all of whom are current or former serving seafarers, are able to share their personal experiences with would-be mariners, and aim to raise awareness of maritime industry and the career prospects it offers. The scheme aims to bring a positive impact on prospective seafarers, as well as helping to shift people’s perception of what makes a seafarer.
“I think it’s really effective at providing young people with careers advice and opportunities in a career that spans the world – some of the amazing skills you learn, the tuition that you can have paid for,” says Graham Fisher, a Trinity House deck cadet, who has been a Careers at Sea Ambassador for over a year now.
“There’s always one or two who are really engaged and really thinking about it, and you feel like you’ve made a difference to that person’s life – especially when they’re thinking about their options after school or a career change,” says Graham. “Even if it’s just one person, who you speak to for ten minutes, you feel like you’ve made a positive difference.”
According to the UK Chamber’s statement, Careers at Sea has a big online presence, promoting Ambassador visits to schools through its social media channels.
The jobs market can be challenging for graduates and school-leavers, and tuition fees are becoming increasingly expensive, which is making maritime careers more and more appealing to a wider range of people.
George Belcher, who is about to complete a foundation degree in Marine Engineering at South Shields Marine School and visits schools as a Careers at Sea Ambassador, says that being “virtually guaranteed” a job after maritime college has made a job at sea particularly attractive for 16- to 18-year-olds, especially those who haven’t decided on whether they want to go to university. “You learn while you’re earning,” he says.
Graham agrees: “A career at sea is so rewarding and at the same time you can get almost guaranteed employment, you can get your tuition paid for, you can get some amazing transferable skills taught by industry experts – there aren’t a lot of opportunities like that out there,” he says. “Speaking to young people about the opportunities, it really does make them think how it could be for them in later life.”
However, the scheme’s Ambassadors say they still have to battle against students’ lack of understanding about how shipping and trade works.
