As 2024 draws to an end we have taken a look back at the last 12 months and Spinnaker’s business achievements this year.
Teresa Peacock, MD of Spinnaker’s Executive Search division climbed up the rankings in All About Shipping’s list of Top 100 Women in Shipping to number 32! Teresa is an active member of WISTA UK and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women in Work! Well done Teresa!
In March we celebrated International Women’s Day and with a theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’, we wanted to hear from HR professionals and what they were doing to ensure the recruitment, retention and development of female talent within their organisation and if the maritime industry was doing enough to support them.
In March, we also released the very first wage report for hotel staff working on board cruise ships. This report complements the data we currently produce for deck & engine roles on merchant ships and enables cruise companies to ensure they are paying their staff in line with the market. The new report covers activity & entertainment, food & beverage, and housekeeping roles.
April was a busy month. Spinnaker’s HR Consulting division published their findings from the Gender Pay Gap analysis, which saw that in 2023 the mean gender pay gap in the UK reported by members of Spinnaker’s Maritime HR Association was 38.25% compared to a UK average (all industries) of 13.2%! There’s still clearly a lot of work to be done to narrow this gap!
We also shone a spotlight on the excellent recruiters here at Spinnaker – glowing testimonials were published including this:
“I highly recommend Liam for his exceptional expertise and invaluable assistance in securing my first job in this very competitive industry. His guidance and support were instrumental in positioning me at an accredited company in a role that aligns perfectly with my interests. Liam’s dedication and professionalism make him an invaluable resource for anyone seeking career guidance or job placement. He is truly fantastic to work with!”
We also started working with Mark Williams at Shipping Strategy and the Spinnaker team attended some of his brilliant training on Decarbonisation and ESG.
In May, we hosted our 16th annual Maritime People & Culture conference in London. This regular gathering of Maritime HR professionals represented shipping companies from every corner of the globe. This year we hosted our very first gala dinner, kindly sponsored by ABS, during which we announced the winner of the inaugural ‘Best HR Initiative’ Award sponsored by Mintra.
We had invited members of the Maritime HR Association to submit an entry detailing a new HR practice, policy or initiative that they had put in place. Entries ranged from diversity programmes, improved HR systems and well-being activities.
The winner was Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) with their initiative of a Female Mentorship Programme for newly joining women cadets, connecting those at sea with a shore-based mentor. Bravo team BSM!
June was a celebration of the wonderful seafaring community in ‘Day of the Seafarer’. We asked seafarers past and present for their thoughts on the most attractive thing about a career at sea and any advice they would you give to young people who are looking to start a seafaring career.
Spinnaker’s business development team, Helen McCaughran and Monique Turner headed to Greece for the bi-annual Posidonia event, returning with lots of business cards and a love for the Greek culture (and souvlaki!).
In July, we released our annual wage cost report for seafarers onboard vessels in deck & engine positions. The reports help shipowners and managers calculate the cost of crewing a ship, as the reports take into consideration not only the wages of the seafarers, but also their rotation patterns and whether they are employed or contracted.
Throughout August, Spinnaker’s data team carry out the final checks on the shore-based salary survey which were released to participating companies and members of the Maritime HR Association in October. The reports enable clients to check they are paying their staff in line with the market in roles such as technical superintendents and operators in all of the major shipping hubs.
In September, Spinnaker hosted the annual OSCAR Dragon Boat at London’s Docklands Sailing Club. The event raises money for Great Ormond Street to help fund research into treatment for leukaemia for sick children. The event has raised over £3 million since its’ conception in 2011. What an achievement!
In October, Teresa headed to Limassol in Cyprus for the WISTA AGM and in November Monique headed to Manila for the Seatrade Crew Connect event and a week of seminars, networking and socialising.
And here we are in December looking forward to our Christmas party and the holiday season with our friends and family.
We wish our clients a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year and we look forward to working with you in 2025!
