Do you ever get the feeling that tech is evolving so fast that we’re just racing to catch up? It certainly feels that way, with digitalisation the hottest topic at any shipping conference (and indeed any recruitment conference, or any other sector conference I’m sure). You’re hard pushed to read an article on the future of shipping without Uber comparisons, the mention of drones, or the delightfully vague and sweeping term ‘Big Data’.
However this is not just fake news. Here at Spinnaker Global we’ve noticed a huge rise in demand for IT-savvy professionals – not always from a shipping background either – to fill Data Science roles. Huge global companies are hiring for their data units; people with Data Science and Computer Science degrees, who are adept at data mining, making sense of the data-intensive commodity markets, assisting the company with their trading decisions. Now, of course, data isn’t new. We’re just figuring out what to do with it all. In shipping, we’ve certainly seen a recent appetite for staff who can assist with vessel positioning data. This is the future, and there’s no denying it. Just like always in this industry, change comes suddenly, and you have to roll with the punches.
Data analytics is now proving essential for companies, and the kinds of minds they’re seeking – I must admit – are new to me. However, we’re good at what we do, and are successfully placing data scientists in brand new roles – roles that were new to us last year. We’ve made placements already in London, Norway, Singapore and more. It feels exciting to be part of such a big change in the industry, talking to new people with new skills. It seemed alien to me at first, but I’ve had to learn fast because of the rapid demand for this particular skill set.
Just in this week, we’ve got a really exciting VP of Corporate Performance role in the Middle East. We’re seeking candidates for where data management is used to assess performance management – another example of how data is now proving essential for companies. If you’d like to know more about this role, or more about how we can help with your big data recruitment plans for 2019, contact me at [email protected] or call me on +44 (0)1702 480142.
Matthew Cornelius, Senior Consultant, Spinnaker Global
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