The United Kingdom is radically upgrading naval training, with an emphasis on digital maps, cybersecurity and alternative fuels. The goal is to shape the sailors of the future with modern skills and real readiness.
Although the United Kingdom can no longer boast about the number of sailors it has, we see that it is trying and evolving, upgrading its naval training and showing why it was one of the greatest naval forces in history, but also why it continues to “run” global trade by holding the reins of shipping. Charters, maritime bibliography, nautical charts are just some of the fields in which the United Kingdom continues to lead the way compared to other countries.
The new cadet sailors in the United Kingdom became the first to be trained based on a renewed curriculum, which was developed through a broad collaboration of the maritime sector, under the guidance of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The goal of the new program is to adapt naval training to modern technological developments and the requirements of today’s shipping industry. Classes with the new curriculum started in September, while its final version had been delivered to naval schools since 2023.
The program now incorporates topics such as the use of digital maps, alternative fuels and ship propulsion systems, as well as cybersecurity and data management skills.
This particular undertaking is part of the Cadet Training and Modernisation Programme (CT&M), an extensive plan to upgrade naval training, involving shipping companies, educational institutions and industry professionals.
It is characteristic that for the first time a maritime regulatory body is collaborating so closely with the shipping industry to shape the training specifications.
The MCA’s chief examiner, Ajit Jacob, stressed that the new curriculum aims to ensure that new sailors will possess the core but also modern skills needed to work safely and effectively. As he underlined, the new program is not limited to the use of new technologies, but also takes into account the well-being of sailors, adapting theoretical training to the modern reality of the profession.
The CT&M program is based on proposals from the 2021 Maritime Skills Committee and brings all the key players of British shipping to the same table. The MCA does not provide training itself, however it controls and supervises standards through examinations and periodic audits.
The question that arises is this: Greece, being the largest shipping power in the world, what has it done to evolve naval training so that it can keep pace with corresponding international developments?
The work inside a ship and the requirements have changed to a very large extent compared to 20-25 years ago. New officers must be equipped with the appropriate tools to be able to cope with the new reality.
Digitalization -and of shipping- and the transition to digital processes and new technologies is gradually changing the way we perceive the role of the sailor. Some argue that “ships don’t work that way”.
It may be partly true, but the Greek seafarer must adapt to the new era which demands much more compared to some years ago. And the worst is not only that it demands much more, but also that it demands we adopt new habits.
Regarding the state, it must finally give due importance to the upgrade of the Merchant Marine Academies (AEN) and maritime education in general. It must also set certain basic specifications for private maritime schools, since without this being done, the level of Greek officers will keep falling. The era is moving forward and changing, and the faster we harmonize, the better it is for all of us.
