The European Shipowners’ Association (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) have founded a joint forum for maritime professions.
This initiative aims to identify skills gaps resulting from the digital and green transitions and address the shortage of maritime professionals and limited mobility between shore-based and shipboard positions.
The launch event of the European Maritime Skills Forum, a joint initiative of the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF), the European social partners for maritime transport, has now taken place.
ECSA initiative aims to bring the industry together
This new initiative, officially supported by the European Commission, brings together maritime stakeholders from across Europe, including policymakers, industry and transport unions, researchers and Maritime Education and Training Providers (MET-NET).
“The new joint initiative strengthens the close cooperation between trade unions and the industry. It aims to join forces, create synergies, improve cooperation and bring together social partners, policymakers, maritime education providers and research institutes,” said ECSA Secretary General Sotiris Raptis.
Further training for 250,000 seafarers
The Draghi report points to a skills gap in the European economy and emphasises that 250,000 seafarers in Europe alone will need to be trained and upskilled for the green and digital transitions by mid-2030. “The European Maritime Skills Forum is an important step in building a future-proof education and training system for the European maritime industry,” said Raptis.
“We have created the EU Maritime Skills Forum as a tool to foster cooperation between social partners, maritime industry stakeholders, policymakers and maritime training institutions as we drive the green and digital transformation of the sector,” said Livia Spera, ETF Secretary General.
“At the heart of this transformation, we want to put people first by ensuring better working conditions, creating quality jobs and making the profession more attractive and inclusive. By prioritising an equitable, people-centric approach, we can support seafarers through targeted upskilling and reskilling initiatives and leave no one behind. This is crucial to enable a sustainable and equitable future for maritime transport,” said Spera.
The forum builds on the results of the EU-funded SkillSea project, which identified key challenges such as the shortage of maritime professionals, changing skills requirements and the need for better cooperation between stakeholders.
Three working groups for key topics
The forum has set up three working groups to address the topics of “green skills”, “digitalisation” and “leadership development”. These will address issues such as training for the safe use of new clean fuels, digital priorities such as cyber security and AI, and the development of soft skills to improve diversity, resilience and inclusion in the industry. The working groups will meet throughout the year to take the discussion forward and report back to the next plenary session of the 2026 Forum to discuss the next steps.
