Menu
Maritime UK South West has been awarded £85,000 from the Department of Transport as part of an initiative to grow economies in coastal areas around the UK.
The project creates a partnership between 4 colleges: Petroc (N Devon), Bournemouth and Poole College, South Devon College and City College who will deliver a series of events to support businesses and also to help promote careers in maritime to young people across the region.
Maritime UK South West will lead the project and deliver a marketing campaign to reach young people including production of the first maritime careers magazine for the SW which will highlight the incredible range of careers opportunities in the region and highlight exemplar employees case studies.
The project is being supported by match funding from Maritime UK South West business partners and also includes higher education in the form of a partnership with with MLA College, ORE Catapult and Exeter and Plymouth University and will work with local careers hubs, mentor networks and schools, creating a repository of maritime careers related collateral to be used in schools.
If you struggle to fill vacancies, have exemplar employees you would like them promoted via the project marketing campaign and magazine or would like to find out practical ways of increasing diversity within your workforce join the first quarterly project Business Meeting, 3-4.30, 10th Feb.
The Maritime UK South West chair Graham Harrison, said “The South West maritime sector faces perhaps its greatest opportunity in a generation with a predicted 5,000 new jobs from floating offshore wind and a further 7,000 from the Dreadnought Submarine Program in the next decade. The MUKSW Skills, Careers and Diversity program, will market careers better than any one company can and brings together an incredible partnership which together has the opportunity to drive the required level of skills investment into the sector by working in partnership”.
Paul Singer, Business and Qualification Developer at South Devon College. Director at Maritime UK South West Ltd said
“The SW of the UK faces significant skills challenges, a huge part of solving this is to ensure that more people understand that there are a wealth of exciting, well paid and sustainable careers to be had on our doorsteps. These are great careers that most young people in particular just aren’t aware of. I am incredibly exited to have formed this partnership and look forward to working with more business and getting the message out there to young people and those looking to change careers into maritime”.
The government’s Maritime Minister Mike Kane announced the funding, which is being managed by Maritime UK, and said that the maritime sector was key to unlocking regional economic growth. “By investing in our excellent maritime clusters, we can deliver jobs, skills and training for local communities and turbocharge growth by delivering investment into the sector.”
Maritime UK South West are a member led and owned cluster. In addition to our work on skills we have an ambitious work program for 2025 which includes delivery of a program of innovation support and events linked the £7M Innovate UK Launchpad program, including a Clean Maritime and Skills Summit and the creation of an innovation adviser network.
To find out more about our work program and how to work with us.
To find out more about sponsorship opportunities or how to get involved in the project contact kate.whitta@maritimeuksw.org.