Recruitment has become a major issue across industries, with labour shortages compounded by the need to train and educate skilled workers, particularly in shipping where the technology is changing fast, and women can fill the recruitment gaps said Petraki.
Elpi Petraki is the business development manager at ENEA Management Inc. and president of WISTA International, the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association, and believes there is a solution to staff shortages.
Although she acknowledges the challenges that face shipping, she points to the different needs that people may have when choosing their profession, which allows the maritime sector to compete with shore-based work as a result.
“The recruiting and retaining issue is a general one for all industries, not, just shipping,” said Petraki. “Each part of our industry attracts different types of people. Short sea shipping, for example, attracts people who want to reach the shore more often, to feel that sense of being close to home.”
She believes that a different type of person would opt for the long-haul business - someone who does not mind spending much of the year at sea.
Petraki believes that shortsea shipping could, therefore be “a good first step for women on board vessels. That sense of being at home, or close to home, is often enough; it’s something that could appeal to women.”
“There is also a personal dimension to shortsea shipping, where the individual is working onboard among people they know, and calling at the same ports and so they get acquainted with regular contacts. I think this is also an attractive environment for many people.”
It is also necessary to make certain that there are safeguards on board to protect women on ships, adds Petraki.
![Fr Alex with seafarers visiting Odesa Ukraine[51].jpg](https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/sites/seatrade-maritime.com/files/styles/article_related_thumb_standard/public/Fr%20Alex%20with%20seafarers%20visiting%20Odesa%20Ukraine51.jpg?itok=Dm3oJXQ2){kind=small}
