Organiser Navingo BV once again expects a record number of vacancies to be displayed at the eighth Maritime & Offshore Career Event (MOCE) on Wednesday 2 April.
Even though the economy of most European countries shows only little growth, the maritime cluster seems to be weathering the storm reasonably well. Last year, more than 110 companies offered 2500 vacancies. This year, the maritime and offshore industry are still in urgent need of personnel, mainly technical and nautical, all of which will provide many opportunities for job seekers.
Number of Graduating Sailors Needs to Double
The Dutch shipping industry is facing a shortage of sailors. Currently, around 3600 Dutch sailors work on board of ships under the Dutch flag. But this number is shrinking; resulting in a shortage of sea going personnel.
At this moment about 2000 nautical students are enrolled at the Dutch maritime academies. Each year, about 650 new students register. Last year, 300 maritime officers graduated. Not bad when compared to other technical educations, but still not enough. There are not enough graduating students to replace the sailors leaving the sea, and certainly not enough to boost the number of Dutch sailors in the future. The number of graduates needs to double at least.
Internship and Job Guarantee
In the offshore oil and gas industry especially, there is a current shortage of experienced technical staff, but the other maritime sub-sectors are also looking for new technical personnel. Ever more students choose a technical study, seemingly in response to urgent calls from the government and the industry to choose a technical study. A benefit of the shortage in personnel is that almost every technical graduate, engineer or maritime officer gets an internship and job guarantee.
Wide Range of Employers
The maritime industry offers plenty of opportunities. MOCE is a platform that brings together career and training opportunities for the maritime and offshore industry. Here, students and (experienced) professionals come into direct contact with exhibitors to build both work and educational relationships.
Companies who have already booked stands include Boskalis, Damen Shipyards Group, Dosign Engineering, Heerema, IHC Merwede, Jumbo, Oceanco, Vroon, Stolt Tanker, Sea Trucks Group, Airborne, Deltametaal, Temporary Works Design, Expro North Sea, Faststream Recruitment and Keppel Verolme.
Video Booth
A new part of the event programme is the possibility for the visitors to present themselves to the various employers through a short video message in the video booth.
The event kicks off at 10.30 and will continue until 18.00. From 17.00, a networking drink will take place on the exhibition floor. The entrance to the event is free. Registration is possible through www.maritimeoffshorecareerevent.com.
