River Academy and STC Next are expanding their collaboration to improve inland shipping education and training across Europe. The partnership focuses on developing modern, practice-oriented and internationally applicable programmes, as well as high-quality learning materials for both initial training and professional development.
Both organisations contribute complementary expertise. River Academy specialises in inland shipping training, e-learning and simulators, while STC Next brings broad experience in maritime and logistics education with a strong international focus.
The cooperation responds to key sector challenges, including a shortage of skilled workers and increasing demands in safety, technology and digitalisation. To address this, the partners aim to develop accessible, future-proof training that is closely aligned with real-world practice.
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Transparency and consistency of training standards
A key objective is to improve the transparency and consistency of training standards across Europe. Differences in legislation and implementation currently make international rules difficult to interpret, despite mutual recognition of qualifications. At the same time, uneven quality levels in parts of the education system need to be addressed.
This urgency is reinforced by developments following the introduction of EU Directive 2017/2397 on the recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation. While intended to harmonise standards, implementation has been slow and inconsistent across the seventeen participating countries, at a time when labour shortages are increasing, innovation is accelerating, fleets are expanding and sector requirements are becoming more complex.
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Aligned with onboard practice
Against this background, River Academy and STC Next aim to align training content more closely with onboard practice, as well as with training institutes and inland shipping companies. This benefits students, career switchers, experienced professionals and companies investing in workforce development.
The partners note that the private training market in Europe is highly fragmented. In many countries, clear implementation pathways and practical knowledge to translate European directives into education and assessment are lacking. At the same time, market entry for training providers can be relatively easy. As a result, the focus should not only be on passing exams, but on actual professional competence – ensuring that future crew members and officers can operate safely and effectively.
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Addressing system-level challenges
The collaboration therefore extends beyond learning materials to broader system-level challenges. Competency standards will be further refined, content more clearly structured and quality processes made more transparent.
River Academy and STC Next also aim to intensify cooperation with countries, educational institutions, companies, industry organisations and European bodies to further develop inland shipping into a reliable, safe, accessible and attractive sector with strong future prospects.
Both partners see the collaboration as a boost to the sector’s attractiveness. High-quality education supports recruitment, enables career progression and strengthens long-term workforce retention. For companies, it provides access to up-to-date, practice-oriented training content, supporting employee development and enhancing the sector’s overall competitiveness.
Picture: Ivan Winterhalder, Director River Academy (left) and Cor van Wijngaarden, Director STC Next signing their partnership agreement (photo by STC Next).
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