Building skills for the future: Highlights from the Shipbuilding Pact for Skills event
On January 21st, 2025, over 50 representatives from maritime manufacturing industries, training providers, trade unions and policymakers gathered online for the Shipbuilding Pact for Skills event. The event, supported by the European Commission and the LeaderSHIP project, focused on the progress of the Pact for Skills in the maritime technology industry and explored future opportunities to strengthen skills across Europe.
The event kicked-off with keynote speeches from European Commission representatives from DG EMPL, DG GROW, and DG MARE. It has highlighted the growing importance of skills development in boosting industrial competitiveness, particularly in the context of green and digital transitions.
The commitments of the Pact for Skills were as well presented, highlighting its ambitious goal of upskilling and reskilling 200 000 workers, attracting and retaining 230 000 new talents, and mobilizing 1 billion euros of public/private investment. Two key projects, the CHAlleNGE 4S project, and the LeaderSHIP project, were presented as key contributors to the realization of these commitments. Both projects aim to strengthen skills development and ensure that the maritime industry is ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
In addition, Lisnave shipyards shared their experience of skills and labor shortages, and the urgent need for skilled workers. Deusto University offered an educational perspective, discussing ongoing efforts to align training programs with industry needs. Trade Unions echoed these concerns, stressing the importance of continuous training to keep workers competitive in a rapidly evolving sector.
Looking ahead, the LeaderSHIP project will continue to play a vital role in advancing the Pact for Skills, working to attract new partners and raise awareness across the industry. Through its efforts, the maritime technology sector will not only be able to meet today's challenges, but also build a skilled workforce ready for the future.
The event served as a vital platform for collaboration and reaffirmed the importance of skills in shaping the future of the European shipbuilding industry.
Apprenticeship trial at Meyer Turku shipyard
An apprenticeship trial spanning the spring semester is an opportunity for Alvar Vilkkinen and eight other students to gain professional skills and get motivated to finish their studies. The aim of the trial is to offer the students positions at the shipyard after graduation.
During the spring term, nine second-year welding students from Turku Vocational Institute are taking part in an apprenticeship trial at Meyer Turku Shipyard. The cooperation is part of the LeaderSHIP project led by Turku University of Applied Sciences and co-financed by the European Union. The project involves piloting different kinds of course trials and study implementations related to the needs of the shipping industry.
During the spring, the students will learn welding-related skills, getting the opportunity to do practical work in the shipyard’s production facilities and conditions under the guidance of Turku Vocational Institute teacher Mika Haapalainen and shipyard teachers Aarre Kajari, Teppo Suonpää, Arto Söderblom, Tanel Ruotsalo and Jari Heiti.
In the spring, the teachers will evaluate the students’ performance, for example their demonstrations, with the basic criteria of the degree programme. After the evaluations, the teacher team will discuss the students’ placements in the autumn and where they could get an apprenticeship at the shipyard. The options are plate welding and welding at the various hull departments of the shipyard.
The teachers consider the apprenticeship a good opportunity, its focus on real-life work being a definite benefit. As a result of the trial, personnel at the shipyard will get to see the students’ development and competence over a longer period of time, and the students have the opportunity to elevate their competence to the standard required by production at the shipyard.
“The apprenticeship trial gives students an opportunity to practise doing real-life work”, Mika Haapalainen summarises.
Apprenticeship trial produces skilled employees for the shipyard
In just a few weeks’ time, the students’ skills have improved in leaps and bounds, for example when it comes to welding and flame cutting. This improvement is thanks to the students having more time to hone their skills during the apprenticeship trial. The shipyard also has higher quality requirements for welding than school, which makes the students work harder and improve.
The students have also noticed how quickly they have learned things in just a short time.
“During my time at the shipyard, I have understood my potential and realised that I can do much better than what I thought at school. It makes me motivated to keep studying”, says student Alvar Vilkkinen.
The Meyer Turku shipyard is a unique learning environment, giving the students an opportunity to see how large cruise ships are built. Shipbuilding is a complex process, and the students get to learn many different things and at the shipyard since there are plenty of departments, each with their own special features.
“Thanks to the apprenticeship, we’ll have new sharp employees for the shipyard”, says Tero Iivonen, training specialist at Meyer Turku.
Working at the shipyard looks good in a CV and teaches work skills
The students participating in the apprenticeship trial all agree that, as a learning environment, the shipyard is more versatile than school. At the shipyard, the students get to do things in practice, and studying is different than at school. The shipyard also has better equipment than the educational institution, and the shipyard gives students more responsibility, which they consider to be a good thing.
The students are satisfied with the level of teaching at the shipyard, saying that they can always get help from the teachers when they need it. In addition, the working conditions at the shipyard halls are clean and the ventilation is good. The students were surprised how tidy the halls are. They have come to find that everyday cleanliness is important, because a tidy environment motivates them to work. The students have even received praise from the hall manager for their tidiness.
The students think that the option to get an apprenticeship at the shipyard in the last year of studies is a very good thing. It gives them an easy start in their careers, and working at the shipyard also looks good in a CV.
Studying at the shipyard helps accumulate work skills, and the students also consider it important to learn adjusting to the rhythm of a workplace: at the shipyard, every morning starts at 7, so the students are practising going to bed early so that they have good energy in the morning. They also find that they have good appetites at the shipyard, since they do a lot of physical work during the day.
The young students have enjoyed studying at the shipyard. Some of students had initially faced shocked reactions about working at a shipyard, but they have discovered that it is a much more pleasant environment than they had expected.
“The shipyard is a much nicer place than we had assumed. It’s not as bad as we thought. They make ships here that no-one else makes anywhere else in the world”, the students say.
Aiming for the students to find employment at Meyer Turku after graduation
The aim of the LeaderSHIP project is to design and implement Europe-wide curricula, degree programmes and courses to meet the urgent demand for competence in the maritime industry. The project is developing new implementations and content for the degree programmes and teaching of vocational education and training. The content of the project also includes considerations for the green transition, circular economy, waste reduction and ocean protection.
The Turku Vocational Institute is continuously striving to discover avenues of cooperation and solutions to new challenges and the needs of the changing world of work. The LeaderSHIP project is one example of such efforts, and the project involves several different trials, for example on the challenges of the availability of skilled labour.
Head of Education Mikko Hauninen is closely involved in the implementation of the LeaderSHIP project.
“Our cooperation with the Turku shipyard to develop an apprenticeship system is great for supporting the general development of vocational education and training. We are working closely with the shipyard and its partners”, says Mikko Hauninen.
The apprenticeship trial between the Turku Vocational Institute and Meyer Turku combines the basics of the welding degree programme with the requirements of the Meyer Turku shipyard. The trial involves students completing the welding qualifications required by the shipyard and practising welding frame structures, flame cutting and welding standards. The aim is to get as many students as possible an apprenticeship at the shipyard for their third year at the vocational institute. The aim of the trial is for the students to find employment at the Meyer Turku shipyard after graduation.
The apprenticeship trial will be organised again during the upcoming operating period in cooperation with the Meyer Turku shipyard through the LeaderSHIP project. The trial gets a recommendation from the students currently participating in it, the shipyard being a great environment for ambitious students who are eager to start their working life.
Studying at the shipyard requires an active attitude and being able to get out of bed in the morning.
“If you’re not motivated, it’s not for you”, say the students.
Project website: LeaderSHIP for Skills – LeaderSHIP for Skills
SEA Europe
SEA Europe: The Shipyards’ & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe
The voice of the maritime civil and naval technology industries in Europe
What does SEA Europe stands for?
SEA Europe represents close to 100% of the European shipbuilding industry in 16 nations, encompassing the production, maintenance, repair, and conversion of all types of ships and floating structures, commercial as well as naval, including the full supply chain with the various producers of maritime systems, equipment material, and services. Consolidates and strengthens the EU’s frontrunner role in RD&I, greening of the waterborne sector, and digital technologies. Develops concepts essential to ensure the transition to a clean, digital and competitive European waterborne transport sector and to enhance the sector’s competitiveness. Moreover, SEA Europe is a recognised social partner in the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Shipbuilding.
Within the LeaderSHIP project, SEA Europe is leading Work Package 2 “Strategic and sustainable cooperation on skills”, which includes important tasks such as:
- Strengthening the Shipbuilding and Maritime Pact for Skills (with Foro Maritimo Vasco)
- Mapping regional ecosystems (with Foro Maritimo Vasco)
- Enhancing business-education and inter-company collaboration
- Mapping upskilling and reskilling support and financing scheme (with GICAN)
- Developing a sectoral skills strategy
Contact us:
Monia El Faziki, Director EU Public and Social Affairs: me@seaeurope.eu
More about SEA Europe: Sea Europe – The Shipyards’ & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe
University of Deusto
The University of Deusto, a HEI of over 130 years, was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus. It covers seven main fields of study: Business, Law, Health, Education and Sport, Theology, Social and Human Sciences and Engineering. It aims to train leaders who can combine a professional, humanist and ethical perspective through a full range of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education programmes and it is ranked among Spain’s leading universities for its world-class teaching and top-level performance.
Deusto is a non-profit university, with more than 11,200 students, of which 465 are international coming from 77 different countries that combines a high level of internationalisation with excellence in teaching. It is remarkable for its capacity to combine many contrasting elements: local roots and global challenges, historic awareness and concerns for the future, leadership engagement and social commitment, intellectual rigour and experience-based learning, competition and cooperation, tradition and innovation. Ours is one of the 18 universities accredited by the Spanish Ministry of Education as an International Campus of Excellence since 2015. With campuses in Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastian and branches in Vitoria-Gasteiz and Madrid, its 7 faculties are characterised by their capacity for both internal and external collaborations. UD offers 34 bachelor’s Degrees, 14 Double Degrees, 40 Master Programmes, 15 specialisation courses, 15 Executive Education Masters and courses, 9 Doctoral Programmes.
We are striving for internationalisation, without excluding other regions, and demonstrate a clear commitment to Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, having signed agreements with 527 universities. 1,767 students and 49 members of staff took part in mobility programmes during the 2022-23 academic year. The faculties are also involved in European programmes. Deusto has developed strong experience in Project Management since 1989, coordinating large projects and participating in 4 Erasmus Mundus Masters Programmes, over 100 International Research Projects, as well as 78 Erasmus+ projects, coordinating 24 of them.
The University of Deusto aims at excellence in education and achieved a significant position of international leadership for decades. In keeping with its institutional policy, Deusto has focused on creating international networks and projects, which have become increasingly important and enhanced the university’s prestige. This offers a wide range of advantages, creating opportunities to share experiences and find research, teaching and management synergies. These initiatives boost exchange between students, faculty and administration and services staff, creating an ideal environment to start up and implement international projects.
Contacts
Dr. José Antonio Campos – Executive MBA | Deusto- Director
Email address: tontxu.campos@deusto.es
Organisation webpage www.deusto.es
Dr. José Luis del Val – Professor | Engineering Faculty
Email address: joseluis.delval@deusto.es
Dr. Fernando Díez – Associate Professor | Education & Sport Faculty
Email address: fdiez@deusto.es
University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) was founded in 1968 and recognized under the present title in 1980. It is the only public university in the Basque Country, and it is a member of ENLIGHT, a European University alliance of ten Universities from ten European countries (Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland).
The training offer of the UPV/EHU is quite wide: 67 Bachelor´s Degrees, 103 master programs, 44 expert diplomas and 71 PhD programs. There are also research groups. In 2021 there were 289 groups, with, for example, a production of 465 theses in 2020-21 (42% international and 13 % in the Basque language) and 3713 scientific publications in 2020.
Taking part in the LeaderSHIP Project, the members of the UPV/EHU are all from the School of Engineering of Bilbao, which is lay out in three different buildings. Two of them in Bilbao and one in Portugalete (the Nautical Branch). In the School ,there are 4750 Students, 550 Lecturers, 130 Researchers and 150 Services personnel. Two departments are involved: the Energy Engineering department and the Business Organization Department.
Within the Project, the University of the Basque Country will be involved mainly in Work Package 2 (Strategic and sustainable cooperation on skills) in tasks 4, 5 and 6; in Work Package 3 (Curricula Design) in tasks 1 and 2; and above all, in Work Package 4 (Training Provision), developing training/learning methodologies and technologies, piloting the courses and developing a sectoral approach towards the transfer and validation of training.
IndustriAll Europe
IndustriAll European Trade Union is a federation of independent and democratic trade unions representing manual and non-manual workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, textile, clothing and footwear sectors and related industries and activities. We speak for 7 million working men and women united within 200 national trade union affiliates in 39 European countries.
The industriAll European Trade Union aims to develop common views and positions with its affiliates in order to build up efficient strategies to defend the economic, social and cultural interests of the workers in these industries on a basis of solidarity, mutual respect and common principles. The industriAll European Trade Union advocates thorough social reforms, the reinforcement of democracy and the promotion of economic and social progress in Europe. It supports an integrated Europe without borders, with common social standards, a high level of social protection and the involvement of workers and trade union representatives.
The industriAll European Trade Union is established to organize and enhance the collective power of working people in Europe, to defend their rights and advance their common goals with respect to both companies and States. To this end, the industriAll European Trade Union works on pushing forward the coordination and development of collective bargaining, industrial relations and social policies. We aim to be a powerful player in the European policy arena vis-à-vis European companies, European industries, employers’ associations and European institutions.
LeaderSHIP 3rd project meeting in Copenhagen
On November 19 and 20th the LeaderSHIP project will hold its third meeting that will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark.
During the meeting participants will discuss the Learnings, presented by the the Danish Maritime Research Alliance, they will discuss Strategic and sustainable cooperation skills as well as the different project deliverables and trainings followed by a visit to the MAN Energy Solutions, where we will have an introduction to MAN, instruction facilities and the need for skills at different levels and within different areas.
Follow our social media accounts for more updates!
IndustriAll Europe
IndustriAll European Trade Union is a federation of independent and democratic trade unions representing manual and non-manual workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, textile, clothing and footwear sectors and related industries and activities. We speak for 7 million working men and women united within 200 national trade union affiliates in 39 European countries.
Furthermore, we are a member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and partner of IndustriALL Global Union. We act together, with the aim to combine and optimise strength and complementarities in order to better protect and advance the rights of the workers in our industries and sectors.
We aim to develop common views and positions with its affiliates in order to build up efficient strategies to defend the economic, social and cultural interests of the workers in these industries on a basis of solidarity, mutual respect and common principles. The industriAll European Trade Union advocates thorough social reforms, the reinforcement of democracy and the promotion of economic and social progress in Europe. It supports an integrated Europe without borders, with common social standards, a high level of social protection and the involvement of workers and trade union representatives.
The industriAll European Trade Union is established to organize and enhance the collective power of working people in Europe, to defend their rights and advance their common goals with respect to both companies and States. To this end, the industriAll European Trade Union works on pushing forward the coordination and development of collective bargaining, industrial relations and social policies. We aim to be a powerful player in the European policy arena vis-à-vis European companies, European industries, employers’ associations and European institutions.
Contact:
Aurora Rossi
aurora.rossi@industriall-europe.eu
Danai Dimitrakopoulos
Danai.dimitrakopoulos@industriall-europe.eu
UDJG-FAN
The Faculty of Naval Architecture (FAN) from the ”Dunărea de Jos” University of Galati, is a leading naval educational institution in Romania starting from 1948, dedicated to advancing the field of naval architecture and maritime engineering. Located in a region with a rich maritime tradition, this faculty stands at the forefront of shipbuilding, ports, and maritime industry education.
Our mission is to enhance the competitiveness and growth of maritime companies through innovative research, collaboration, and international engagement. We are committed to fostering a culture of excellence and cooperation within the maritime sector.
The Faculty of Naval Architecture in Galati comprises a diverse community of experts and students involved in every aspect of the maritime supply chain. Our faculty collaborates with shipyards, ship design companies, maritime equipment and technology providers, ports, shipowners, public administrations (local, river, ports administrations), and other educational and training institutions. This extensive network ensures our programs are aligned with industry needs and global standards.
With a tradition of over 75 years, our curriculum is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge required to excel in the dynamic and ever-evolving maritime industry.
Between 2017-2022, our faculty provided 442 Bachelor of Naval Engineering (Naval Architecture and Ship Systems and Equipment) graduates, while between 2018-2023 only 100 MSc in Naval Architecture graduates (in English).
Of the 217 graduates who graduated Naval Architecture work in the shipbuilding sector (34% design and engineering companies, 56% shipyards, 6% turnkey contractors, 4% others).
The MSc graduates work in the shipbuilding sector (40% design and engineering companies, 46% shipyards, 3% turnkey contractors, 12% others).
Within the LeaderShip project, UDJG through Naval Architecture Faculty will develop two reports for WP4 Training Provision:
- report including the process of piloting main courses, and its assessment to refine them.
- report to implement the courses attending the context of the industry in each country.
These milestones will allow the partners to achieve D4.3 (Pilots of Courses) and D4.4 (Sectorial Approach).
Contact
Organisation webpage
https://www.en.ugal.ro/
https://www.fan.ugal.ro/