‘New technologies are being developed and applied faster than ever’: ABS’s Wiernicki

The ceo of ABS has called on shipping to learn from other industries when it comes to recruitment and training, especially given the pace of change brought about by technology.

Speaking at the opening session of the CMA Shipping 2016 conference, class society boss Christopher Wiernicki said: “The absolute value of talent we need to develop must anticipate, leverage, and exploit rapidly emerging technologies, make the right techno-economic risk decisions… and recognise the need for change on a global scale.” This means the workforce of tomorrow, according to Wiernicki, will be able to identify and embrace disruptive technologies.

The driving force behind this change is that evolving technology and regulations are moving the industry to risk-based, data-centric, cyber-influenced decision-making. “New technologies are being developed and applied at faster speeds than we’ve ever seen to meet regulatory and operational demands,” Wiernicki said.

This means industry will require talent with non-traditional skill sets such as systems and data engineers from non-traditional sources and a culture that blends traditional and non-traditional talent. “This will require new types of training and command faster development of our people,” he said.

“Learning from other industries, such as medical, aerospace, and automotive, we can all leverage talent development plans and strategies that will deliver the right talent right now,” Wiernicki concluded.

CMA Shipping is an annual meeting of 2,500 leaders of the maritime industry from around the world, the largest gathering of maritime executives in North America.