The world is going through unusual and challenging times with numerous uncertainties in many businesses and professions with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a tough choice for youngsters to start a profession where there will be significant times spent to gain the qualifications that will attain and yet the seafaring profession is one of the extreme professions. Besides, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and several other major leading organisations puts significant efforts to attract females to the profession to improve the quality and create equal gender opportunity at sea. Maritime industry has two sides: one is sea and the other is shore. There are number of maritime organisations and professional bodies representing industry in which the workforce consists of those who has limited or no sea experience.

The staff competence varies dependent on the specific requirements and circumstances of individual maritime stakeholders and Member States. Therefore, the opportunity to utilise the experienced seafarers on shore jobs are underutilised. Furthermore, seafarers are left to work at sea for a long time as the path for them to work on shore-based jobs are somehow not open or enabled. This creates suitably qualified and experienced personnel, professionals, trainers within the EU and worldwide are left to work at sea for the rest of their life. The specific requirement for this project arises because currently there is no mechanism available in digital form to promote shore-based jobs to seafarers who worked at sea for a long time and gained valuable experience. This problem exists across most EU Member States. The project, SEA4SHORE, will examine this problem from a representative sample consisting of the five countries.

SEA4SHORE project will develop:

– A competency map and profiles required for at least 20 alternative career paths ashore.

– An online tool to be used by students or captains that will help them assess the possibilities to work on shore. The partnership is composed of by maritime school, nautical academies, online training company, maritime training providers from 6 EU countries (LV, TR, ES, LT, GR, HR) ensure both sound implementation and sustainability of the project. The SEA4SHORE project will work towards making seafarers skills recognised in shore-based jobs hence allow more work mobility for European citizens.