Millennials have entered the maritime workforce and the iGen — the children, teens, and young adults born in the mid-1990s and later — is poised to join.
Internet-oriented, with a preference for smart phones over laptops and social media over TV, the routine-shunning iGen, like millennials, are outspoken and have a penchant for collaborative decision-making rather than taking orders from above.
This could present shipping, with its strict onboard routines and hierarchical decision-making processes, with its greatest crewing challenge.
The evolving expectations and perceptiveness of this new generation of seafarers requires a significant change in mindset for shipping companies and shipmanagers when it comes to their crewing practices.
That was not lost on delegates at this month’s CrewConnect conference in Manila, who met to discuss how shipping can recruit and retain these digital natives.
This new workforce has different expectations, says Sean Gill, manager of fleet training at the Holland America Group.
“They are looking for a career path,” he says. “They are no longer willing to go into a position and stay there for 10 years.
"We need to improve conditions onboard and give each crew member a career path that gets them where they want to be."
Others argue that the younger generations are focusing more on life experiences rather than one single career path. They want options and the ability to change direction.
“They come and go between jobs to seek adventures,” says Tino Hensel, vice president of marine human resources at Carnival Maritime, the technical division of cruise giant Carnival Corp.
“Retention is a problem. They are not willing to invest in careers and skills that they don’t need in a virtual world.”
The skills the shipping industry will need to address the requirements of a new generation of seafarers will likely evolve over time. Already there are suggestions that the onboard management and leadership style change from its current command and control format to one that is more collaborative, where everyone onboard can act as a leader rather than a follower.
Access to high-speed internet, of course, is already a necessity.
