Maritime Skills Commission - Labour Market Intelligence Scoping Report - August 2020

Labour Market Intelligence Report - 23
Other area-based analyses
4.1 There is a good deal of area-based analysis and
reporting, which is the focus of this chapter. There
has been no systematic assessment of it so far,
though Maritime UK’s Regional Council is preparing
a summary of what each of the relevant Local
Industrial Strategies has to say (and presumably also
the Skills Action Plans when they are all done), which
should be useful.
4.2 This chapter works its way down the country from
North to South.
Scotland
4.3 In its 2018 Analysis of the Maritime Sector in
Scotland, the Scottish Maritime Cluster has this
thoughtful summary on skills:
The overall subject of ‘skills’ is complex. It was
highlighted by many as critical to the future of the
sector. A number of those consulted considered that
this was the most important issue that SMC can
address.
Major concerns are the demographics of the
workforce and ensuring that the right skills will be
available in the future at the right cost. Companies like
Ferguson Marine are trying to reduce the average age
of their workforce through apprenticeships but there
is widespread concern about what was described as
the ‘middle age gap’ in the UK. The development and
adoption of digital technologies within the sector is
expected to demand individuals with very different
skills sets and it is believed that this needs to be
urgently addressed.
4.4 The report adds this conclusion from its SWOT analysis:
Skills, digitisation, automation and green shipping
are key issues for the future and can be regarded
as areas of both opportunity and/or threat for
Scotland.
4.5
4.6
4.7
The MaxiMar report – “Maximising the Marine
Economy in the Highlands and Islands” – produced
jointly by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and BEIS,
sets its conclusions very much in terms of economic
growth. Under the heading “Regional Cluster Model
for Marine Innovation, Technology and Skills”, the
report says:
Industry has expressed a need for access to high
quality, state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and
wider infrastructure to drive enhanced R&D and
aid clustering, close to the marine environment.
A number of key locations in the region host
research and technology organisations which
already support this, but they are not currently
sufficiently resourced. There is a strong case
for a major cluster development incorporating
technology and sea-trial testing facilities and
industry support mechanisms. It will incorporate
enhanced marine training and skills development
provision which will scale up training provision
in the Highlands and Islands, and will align
with other training providers across Scotland.
There is an opportunity to develop an innovative
partnership model that builds on the combined
existing infrastructure to better meet the needs of
industry, grow innovation in the sector, extend and
expand the skills base, and attract new business to
the region...
there are some skills gaps that will need to be
addressed to make sure there is an adequate
workforce to fuel sector growth.
(There is a separate, but linked initiative, to develop a
university centre in Oban).
Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s Skills Review for
the Aquaculture Sector in Scotland illustrates the
breadth of the sector. Though aquaculture may seem
niche the sector is an important employer in parts of