It was a privilege to have Nusrat Ghani, UK Minister for Maritime (Department for Transport) open the 13th Maritime HR Conference in London on 9 & 10 May.
The annual 2-day event attracted a record number of 200 delegates this year, having evolved from an AGM meeting of the 8 founding members of the Maritime HR Association previously held in a London boardroom. The focus until now has been on shore based HR, however this year’s event focused on the people priorities for both those at sea and ashore.
As the champion of the Maritime 2050 initiative, Ms. Ghani set the scene by sharing the UK government’s vision and ambitions for the future of the British maritime sector supported by a clear message that shipping needs to boost skill sets, improve diversity and inclusion as well as support staff welfare.
These were themes that featured heavily during the formal agenda and informal discussions over the rest of the two days. Delegates enjoyed a mixture of popular, regular sessions, including setting the scene with current maritime economics, combined with member case studies relating to HR initiatives, interactive working groups and networking opportunities.
This year also saw the introduction of presentations from other relevant non-shipping experts; exploring how we can learn valuable lessons on similar experiences from other industries. In aviation – discussing the relationship between air and land, and motor manufacturing companies which are male dominated.
This concept was welcomed by delegates, who continue to provide extremely positive feedback:
- “An interesting, well facilitated and beneficial conference”
- “Excellent and a refreshing change from the normal format for shipping events”
- “Great idea to include experts from other industries”
- “Hit all the current trends and issues”
Dates will soon be set for next year’s event. If you would like to be part of what is proving to be the HR conference for maritime professionals, get in touch with a member of the events team: [email protected]
