News: Maritime Skills Commission launches Skills Intelligence Model with Port Skills and Safety
The Maritime Skills Commission is announcing a new partnership with Port Skills and Safety Ltd to deliver the first Skills Intelligence Model for the maritime sector. The model will be delivered through the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR).
In March 2022, the Maritime Skills Commission (MSC) endorsed and launched the Future Ports Workforce report which recommended clarity on which body is leading on port skills and a more joint working within the ports and maritime sector to drive improvements in diversity. It also recommended that the MSC undertake a systematic review of how skills are used now, and anticipated changes in skills/job requirements in the future and investigate priority near-term skills gaps/shortages, including learning lessons from other sectors.
In responding to the recommendations, Port Skills and Safety Limited (PSS) was identified as the lead actor for port skills and will work closely with Maritime UK and the MSC to deliver the recommendations.
To progress recommendations by the MSC, it was agreed that there would need to be robust benchmarking data. PSS is jointly funding a Skills Intelligence Modelling project with the MSC to provide the industry with ports workforce data. This data will help to:
- Inform strategic workforce planning
- Inform where skills shortages are likely to exist so qualifications and apprenticeships can be developed
- Inform government
The MSC hopes that this pilot can be expanded to other parts of the maritime sector in the coming years. A data collection survey is now available on the MSC portal here.
Graham Baldwin, Chair, Maritime Skills Commission said:
“I am delighted that this first piece of sector modelling is underway. We all know the value of robust evidence to inform work programmes and we also know we achieve more when we learn from others. That’s what this work does. Building upon the experience of the rail industry we will have a robust and valuable picture of skills in the ports industry. We will then be able to roll the model out to the rest of the maritime sector. We’re very pleased to partner with PSS to deliver this work.”
Debbie Cavaldoro, CEO, Port Skills and Safety said:
“PSS welcomed the Future Ports Workforce report and redoubled our commitment to port skills by developing a five-year skills strategy. This process highlighted that there is a lack of data on the current workforce which restricts the ability to plan and recruit for current and future needs.
“Therefore, we are delighted to be partnering with MSC and NSAR to gather data on the current UK ports workforce which we can use to model the skills need.”