Demand for skilled labour in maritime industry on rise: Govt report

The demand for skilled labour in the maritime industry is growing, according to a report published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on Wednesday.

The report also said that competence requirements in the sector, especially for highly skilled tasks, are changing, said the Ministry in a press release.

“The ship orders received by the shipyards in Turku, Rauma and Helsinki will employ thousands of people and create new jobs across Finland. We must ensure with the help of employment services and continuing education that Finland has a sufficient number of skilled workers to fill the vacancies in the maritime industry,” said Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen on the occasion of publishing the report.

“In this employment situation, we need to increase the number of Finnish workers employed by the maritime industry and its subcontractors. Among the unemployed in Finland there are both professionals and highly educated experts who should now be encouraged to enter the marine sector to meet the need for skilled labour,” Marttinen added.

According to the report, attracting young people into the maritime industry is essential for the future success of the sector.

At a time of high youth unemployment, young people could try out the sector with a new recruitment subsidy, for example.

Other employment policy instruments, such as labour market training and wage-subsidised apprenticeships, should also be utilised more. Further and supplementary training and retraining can impact the availability of skilled labour quickly.

According to the report, however, a long-term strategic plan is also necessary to meet the demand for highly educated workforce, in particular, and the skills required for product development and research in the marine industry.

The report proposed nine concrete measures focusing on improving the ability of the sector to attract and retain workforce, providing more diverse opportunities for training, enhancing the use of employment services, and introducing measures to increase the recruitment of young people and career-changers in the sector.

In addition, the report includes proposals to support the ethical and sustainable use of foreign labour.