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19 July 2019
The UK is a maritime nation, with a long history of careers at sea and within related maritime sectors. There is also an ever-growing range of exciting jobs within the maritime industry including pilots and port workers to engineers and naval architects. With sea trade expected to double in the next 20 years, the need for a highly skilled workforce is crucial in sustaining the future of the maritime industry - it’s also good news for those starting out in their careers!
This week, the Port welcomed Lydia Selby, a sixth form student at Steyning Grammar School for one week of work experience. Lydia, who has a keen interest in diving was given the chance to spend a week at the Port, including a day with the Port’s marine team going aboard various vessels. As a significant local employer in Shoreham and the surrounding area for the last 250 years, the Port frequently offers work experience opportunities to local people interested in pursuing a career within the Port or maritime industry.
Lydia also enjoyed spending time with the Port’s Engineering, Property and Operations department as well as learning about the Port’s environmental initiatives.
Lydia commented “I fully enjoyed my week at the Port, I found it interesting to learn about the number of jobs involved in keeping the Port running smoothly and I was given an overview of them all! Through talking to many members of staff, I feel like I have improved my social skills and sparked an interest in lots of different careers at the Port. A highlight of my work experience was spending a day with the marine department and sailing on both the Port’s tug boats and a pilot cutter. I also had a great time in the Operations department, learning about the various imports and exports at the Port.”
Faye Shippam, Ships Agency & Logistics Administrator commented “We had the pleasure of Lydia joining us for the day on Wednesday in the operations division. Lydia spent the morning with our operations team learning about cranes and the loading and discharging of vessels. Lydia then spent the afternoon with our Ships Agency, learning about short sea shipping, our different job roles and what we get up to on a daily basis. We were also fortunate enough to board one of the cargo vessels and have a look around!”
Faye added “We thoroughly enjoy having work experience students with us. We feel we are giving young people the opportunity to explore the nature of the job roles in the maritime industry and learn about the importance of shipping. We also love that we are giving the local community (and often students from schools and colleges we attended!) a rare insight into the inner workings of the Port.”
The Port will also soon be launching a maritime education programme for schools called Why Shipping Matters - a new educational programme which includes a teachers resource pack and educational film about maritime history. The film, produced in conjunction with the ICS at the start of the year and filmed at Shoreham Port, will be used for the Key Stage 2 curriculum, and features appearances from Port staff and stakeholders playing historical maritime characters. Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani announced additional funding to expand the Why Shipping Matters programme to secondary schools earlier this month.
If you would like to learn more about the exciting careers available in the maritime sector, download this career pack from Maritime UK here, visit the Maritime UK website or email info@shoreham-port.co.uk.
Category: Maritime
