Good evening all.
And thank you for your welcome.
I'd like to thank Commodore Bill Walworth for inviting me to speak here at this Maritime Skills Alliance reception.
It's a great pleasure to address you in this magnificent building.
Steeped in maritime heritage and very appropriate for this prestigious week, our fourth London International Shipping Week.
This week creates an opportunity for the UK to showcase its world class maritime sector to an influential international audience.
I am delighted to see so many of you here representing the maritime training and skills industry, a critical part of the maritime sector.
A sector which is so vital to citizens' lives.
And we are committed to investing in and supporting the people of this industry.
Growing their capabilities and positioning a global, outward looking Britain at the forefront of the industry.
But key challenge for the sector, that we need to address, is that in order to continue growing we need the right people, with the right skills, in the right jobs.
Maritime 2050
As many of you know we launched the Maritime 2050 Strategy earlier this year and I said in my closing remarks at the launch that "Our industry is on the cusp of an era of change"
I truly believe this and I believe people will be at the heart of this change.
I know everyone in the room here tonight is committed to creating our maritime workforce of the future.
The reason I know this is because at the last London International Shipping Week my predecessor at this very event set 2 challenges to you all.
The first to address gender imbalance in the sector.
And the second to double the number of maritime apprentices.
You have met those challenges.
The creation of the Women in Maritime Taskforce more than 110 companies have signed the pledge so far and the companies signing up to the charter are significant steps in just 2 years.
And I am delighted to say that yes we have more than doubled the number of starts on maritime apprenticeships between 2014-15 and 2017-18. Rising from 89 to 202.
I thank everyone in the room tonight that has played a role in meeting these challenges.
We are now ready to take this to the next level.
With 'People' one of the 7 themes in our Maritime 2050 Strategy.
We now turn our attention to the delivery of the People themed recommendations of that strategy.
Within 3 decades we want to create a workforce that is equipped with the right skills and is able to adapt to rapidly changing technology.
A workforce that inspires the next generation to be part of it.
A workforce that is inclusive and welcomes everyone.
And a workforce that is fairly rewarded with the UK setting a global benchmark for maritime welfare.
It is therefore my privilege to launch our People Route Map this evening.
Setting out our future vision for our maritime workforce and the delivery of the Maritime 2050 People recommendations.
I have every confidence in our ability to meet the challenges set out in Maritime 2050 but I don't underestimate the challenges that lie ahead.
And government alone cannot unilaterally fix what needs to be fixed.
We must all work in partnership.
Inspiring people
Firstly, we need to do more to inspire people to consider a maritime career.
And we need to do more to encourage young people into the STEM subjects which will be so vital for the maritime sector in the coming decades.
In my time so far as Maritime Minister, I have been hugely impressed with the breadth of opportunity this sector has to offer.
This is not your regular 9 to 5 industry.
People have the chance of carving out a career that works for them, be at as sea or ashore.
Public perception of this sector is mixed, sometimes it is seen as old fashioned - but this is most certainly not the case.
This sector is exciting, dynamic, adventurous - at the forefront of technological change.
We need to change this perception and open people's minds to enable them to see their future lies in maritime.
That is why, in recent months.
My department awarded a £100,000 grant to the 1851 Trust.
To support its work in encouraging girls to learn about STEM subjects and maritime careers.
My department also awarded £40,000 to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers to roll out a shipping programme into secondary schools.
We cannot leave anything to chance where our future workforce is at stake.
We need to take proactive steps now to address perception and market ourselves to be the sector people want to join.
With a multitude of excellent initiatives already happening on the ground.
Now is the time to become more strategic and coordinated in our approach.
That is why I will be tasking the Careers Promotion Forum to be the Single Industry Body bringing greater coherence and coordination to the promotion of maritime careers sector wide.
I thank the Careers Promotion Forum for their work in this area but I recognise that resources are limited.
I am therefore announcing we will be providing £250,000 for this financial year to enable the Careers Promotion Forum to undertake essential work.
Diversity
That brings me onto my next area of focus.
If we are to address the impending skills gap.
It's crucial that we change the current lack of diversity in the industry.
The Women in Maritime Taskforce has made a fantastic start in what is a very difficult area.
I have just come from the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) event where I announced £40,000 in grant funding for the production of a 'Maritime and Me' industry project.
It will showcase the variety of maritime careers available to girls from a diverse range of backgrounds.
However, no industry is at its best when it only recruits from a small array of the talent on offer.
I'm well aware that there are no quick fixes when it comes to solving issues of diversity and inclusion.
This is something on which we all need to focus our minds over the coming months and years as we widen the scope of the Women in Maritime Taskforce, to consider diversity as a whole.
Skills and Training
We are facing an era of significant technological change but also of great opportunity.
It is of paramount importance we have the right skills and training in place for the sector.
As you all know we already face a shortfall in cadet numbers.
A trend which the government has been seeking to address.
Last year I announced we would double the SMarT funding from £15 million to £30 million by 2024/25.
We have seen an increase in SMarT numbers with 800 cadet starts in 2018/19 but there is still some way to go.
We have made excellent progress with our apprenticeship numbers.
And now have a wide range of available apprenticeships across the maritime and marine sectors, with more in development.
We have ratings apprenticeships for roles both on deck and in the engine room.
As well as in catering.
For crew on the Thames and other inland waterways there is the Boatmasters licence and there's also a workboat operatives' apprenticeship.
And on the shore side apprenticeships include Marine Surveyor, Marine Pilot, Port Operatives, Boat Builder to name but a few.
I praise the Maritime Skills Alliance for its continued support in driving the apprenticeship agenda forward.
My challenge to you all is now to ensure you make maximum use of the SMarT funds and apprenticeships available to you.
We know much more is going on in the wider fields of maritime training and we know as we look towards 2050 the skills profile of our maritime workforce will change.
With the introduction of autonomous systems and greater technological developments, we need to ensure the UK is on the front foot.
That is why we are establishing a Maritime Skills Commission.
It will build on the fine foundations laid by Maritime UKs People and Skills Forum.
The Maritime Skills Commission will bring existing leading maritime skills experts together, to report on the existing and future skills needs of the industry.
And I am delighted to reveal the Maritime Skills Commission will receive £300,000 for this financial year to enable it to commence work.
Career Progression
During the next 30 years the importance of STEM skills will increase as jobs become more technologically driven.
And industry roles will become multi-disciplinary.
For instance, in future it may not be enough for an employee to simply operate a technological system.
They will probably have to be able to create and maintain it too.
And it is likely that future UK seafarers will be expected to be equipped with transferable IT skills.
To enable this to happen the Maritime Skills Commission will be tasked with ensuring professional development plans are built into training programmes.
So that recruits are fully aware of the career paths open to them from the outset.
We need to create a culture of continuous learning at work.
That should allow existing maritime workers to develop the skills for their current and future roles whilst allowing the sector to retain the talent it has already invested in.
Welfare
The final area I want to mention is supporting people once they are in their jobs.
Whether that's by helping employees deal with long hours, hard work and periods away from home through initiatives.
Or helping seafarers who leave the industry to adapt to a new world of work.
It is imperative we develop a social framework for the maritime sector that lays out the UK's expectations for the welfare of its workforce.
Closing
So, let me conclude we have a lot to be proud about but there is still more to do.
We need to continue the excellent work that is already underway.
The People Route Map sets out the direction of travel in the delivery of the Maritime 2050 recommendations.
These are not recommendations for government to deliver alone.
But for us to work hand in hand, in partnership.
All of us in this room tonight have a role to play in this journey and in creating our maritime workforce of the future.
If we get this right, we will have the most dynamic, innovative, creative, talented sector, that people strive to be part of.
We can only achieve this if we share the same vision and ambition.
Which I believe we do.
As Helen Keller said:
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
I thank you once again for inviting me to speak.
Enjoy the rest of your evening and the rest of London International Shipping Week
