Euro-wide skills network launched for maritime industry

Liverpool John Moores University is once again demonstrating it is at the cutting-edge of maritime skills in a new European alliance.

LJMU whose history in maritime education dates back to the Liverpool Sailor’ Home School in 1852, is one of nine leading European founders of MET-NET, a new training support network for industry professionals.

Dr Robyn Pyne, Principal Lecturer in Logistics and Maritime Management, said: “Maritime professionals need to be reskilled on a large scale. Rapid emerging technologies, digital transformation on ships and in ship operations, and an increased focus on sustainability require future-proof skills.

“At LJMU, we’re delighted to be working in partnership to support the industry.”

And she said LJMU would be updating its own degree programmes to embed the skills identified.

The new educational packages are an outcome of European Union funded project SkillSea, a maritime skills strategy which has spent four years with the aim to ensure that Europe’s maritime professionals possess key digital, green, and soft management skills for the rapidly changing maritime labour market.

The project brought together social partners, maritime industry, trade unions, research organisations, maritime academies and universities, education and training providers, and public authorities.

The MET-NET - the Maritime Education and Training Network - is a direct outcome of SkillSea and sees institutes in France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Croatia, Romania and Estonia join LJMU.

“We’re all benefitting from sharing valuable resources, increased visibility and will cooperate to keep maritime education up to date and future-proof. We welcome all maritime education providers to join,” added Dr Pyne.

MET-NET was launched on May 31 in Brussels during the closing conference of SkillSea.

The founding partners are:

- STC Group (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)

- École Nationale Supérieure Maritime (Le Havre, France)

- Svendborg International Maritime Academy (Svenborg, Denmark)

- Liverpool John Moores University (Liverpool, United Kingdom)

- University of Rijeka (Rijeka, Croatia)

- Constanta Maritime University (Constanta, Romania)

- Maritime Business School of Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)

- Estonian Maritime Academy (Tallinn, Estonia)

- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway).