What happens when a seafarer changes his job, from a career at sea to a job on land? This transition can be difficult, and it is important that the onshore company supports the seafarer in this transition.
Moving from a sea-side job to a shore-side job often brings challenges and adjustments. It can be both exciting and intimidating when moving from a constantly changing nautical environment to a more stable (and seeming more boring) and regular environment on land. One of the main hurdles is adapting to the different work rhythms and atmospheres. In this article, I will shed some light on the problems of changing your work from sea to shore.
The Move from Offshore to Onshore
Many seafarers are met with the option to transition from a life at sea to a more stable and foreseeable job at the shore. Some seafarers are met with this transition from an offshore job to an onshore job at some point in their careers. But a rose doesn’t come without thorns. Studies from the EU-backed project Skills Sea have shown that the gap between what is learned at nautical colleges and academies and the requirements of a shoreside job is not always matching. Further education and training of seafarers is needed. The training offered by the onshore companies is often generic and not specific to the job at hand. The culture of the company is often hard to explain to a seafarer, who is not used to being in a cooperate culture, and a lack of understanding of the maritime environment is missing.
So how do we shape the training of seafarers to suit the job? Looking at the research, shown in the Skill Sea project, several key areas have been identified as present issues, and proper training should be offered to mend the gap. These areas are:
Maritime economics and business understanding.
Updated maritime law understanding.
New ships technologies.
Digital skills.
Transversal skills suited to a job in an office.
·Green skills and understanding from a shoreside perspective.
The Solution for the Transition from Offshore Job to an Onshore Job
A well-designed and tailored training is necessary for making the shift from a nautical career to a job on shore. By doing so we prepare and give the seafarers the tools and the competencies they need in their new roles on land. We address the specified areas, particularly marine economics, maritime law, ship technology, digital skills, office-oriented skills, and sustainability. These are subjects that the onshore companies should offer as in-house training.
BluePoint Scholastic can help in developing in-house training, in a corporation with specialists, already in the company. By doing so, the corporation gets support in producing the right material and gets support in connecting the maritime field with the corporate field.
Source: The SkillSea report www.skillsea.eu