St Peter’s Port: Shipowners continue to be the ones to blame for the shortage of seafarers, their constant bid to source cheap crew ultimately costing them, argues a top name in human resources in today’s Maritime CEO interview.
Neil Carrington heads up Guernsey based HR firm CESG. He tells Maritime CEO: “The industry has never really done a good job of attracting people.”
Recruiting seafarers particularly at senior levels is a challenge, he says. “This is the result of cutting too deep and not planning for the long term,” Carrington explains.
“Some sectors have poached competent experienced staff rather than invest in training and I am convinced that the resultant rise in salary levels probably outweighs any savings made by cutting training,” he says.
Another key challenge according to Carrington is getting everyone to appreciate that the Maritime Labour Convention is in full effect and that they do have to follow HR procedures now.
“Again I think companies need to think about the training their senior officers have received in dealing with onboard personnel issues,” Carrington says, adding: “We still see many senior staff uncomfortable with addressing problems onboard and just passing the matter to the shore side HR function to resolve.”
