12 education & business Shining a light on sea blindness
As an island nation the UK is dependent on the sea, 95% of all imports and exports are transported by sea and one in every 50 jobs is in the maritime sector. Every year, directly and indirectly, the shipping industry contributes around £31.7 billion towards the country’s GDP and overall the UK’s maritime industry accounts for 2.1% of the entire economy
find out whether understanding about the industry differs between those living nearer the sea compared with those who live inland. With shipping being so important to the local economy, it is hoping that businesses all along the South Coast will also contribute, sharing ideas and information and becoming sponsors.
Pike and Vigar have already put the project on the international map, travelling to Singapore last month at the invitation of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, which asked them to present the project’s aims to members at its annual meeting.
One of the key issues already identified is the lack of women working in the industry; only 2% of the world’s seafarers are female and of these, the overwhelming majority work either on cruise ships, super yachts or passenger ferries. The research will examine whether this is a conscious career choice or whether young people are simply unaware of the variety of careers at sea available to them.
Shipping is the lifeblood of the UK economy, yet people know less about the industry today than they did 50 years ago
Cadet in bridge simulator
Southampton is the country’s number one cruise port; it is the third-largest container port, contributing £714 million to the local economy and supports approximately 15,000 local jobs, and a further 30,000 jobs within the cruise sector.
Yet despite these impressive statistics, the public’s awareness of the shipping industry remains low and generally associated with negative imagery from the media.
All that is set to change as Southampton Solent University launches a three-year research project to examine “sea blindness“ to establish why the general public has little knowledge of the shipping industry and to address the skills gaps that are emerging in the industry.
Dr Kate Pike, senior research fellow with the university’s Maritime Technology Faculty (MarTec), is leading the project with support from Natalie Vigar, project co-ordinator, and the rest of the team. The project has gained industry support and is officially endorsed by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), The Merchant Navy Training Board and WISTA-UK.
“Shipping is the lifeblood of the UK economy, yet people know less about the industry today than they did 50 years ago,“ said Pike. “The industry has become less visible and there is little research concerning the reasons for that. That surprised us, so we wanted to take a step back and look at the whole issue. Our ultimate
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goal is to help people become more aware of the shipping industry, of those who work in it and its importance to our daily lives.“
Southampton ... is the third-largest container port, contributing £714 million to the local economy
Despite the importance of shipping, Pike says there is virtually nothing about the industry included on the national schools’ curriculum; something she believes is significant given the very real employment opportunities the industry offers. The project team is conducting interviews with students at secondary schools, sixth form colleges and universities as part of the study, to find out their thoughts about the industry.
“This is the first study of its kind – so we want to gather evidence as widely as possible,“ she continued. “We’ll ask people key questions. What does shipping mean to them? What level of awareness do they have? What do they know about? And, crucially, try to discover what they do not know, in order to uncover the root causes of this ’blindness’.“
The team has already started interviewing people in Southampton and other South Coast cities and it will go on to compare these views with people living in Oxford and London, to
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2015
“We all know the problems that young people currently face finding a job,“ said Pike. “We want to make the industry a more attractive career choice and encourage young people to think about a job at sea. The industry is very diverse and includes all non-military vessels such as oil tankers, containers ships, cruise ships, ferries, and many more. But that also makes it hard for the industry to market itself centrally.
“Once we have established the shipping awareness issues, the second phase of our project will be the development of strategies and materials to address them. The dissemination of this will focus on schools and colleges and will use digital and social media.
“There’s a lot of talk about an emerging skills gap within the industry, and shipping needs the skills that young people can bring as much as young people need the jobs that are available. This project will bring the two together.“
For more information, or to participate online in the research, visit the Southampton Solent University website.
Details:
www.solent.ac.uk/shipping
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