About the Project
Empowering the Next BlueGeneration to explore career pathways in key
Blue Economy sectors.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
As the blue economy is growing fast and transitioning towards digitalisation and environmental sustainability, increased career opportunities are being offered to qualified workers in emerging and existing sub-sectors. Indicatively, between 2010 and 2030, employment in ocean-based industries is expected to double. However, market data shows that the existing workforce is aging and industries are struggling to attract and retain young talent. The 2021 Seafarer Workforce Report warns that the seafaring industry must significantly increase training opportunities to avoid a serious workforce shortage by 2026.
Many young people find blue economy rather unattractive, associating it with fishing and ship building. For this, starting at school level is key to educate youth on ocean literacy and inform them about existing and emerging blue career opportunities. Teachers and educators shall be ready to accomplish this mission and, thus, contribute in achieving a balance between supply and demand in qualified workforce for the Blue Economy while lowering youth unemployment rates.
Sources:
– The EU Blue Economy Report (2022)
– Seafarer Workforce Report (2022)
– How to build “blue” skills for the ocean economy (Economist, 2022)
GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this project is to raise awareness among young people about Blue Career Opportunities and to provide teachers with tools that enable them to inform and guide their students in this regard. This goal will be met by achieving the following objectives:
- Build an up-to-date dataset on career and training paths in 6 sectors of the Blue Economy (Nautical Tourism, Maritime Transport, Shipping (Shipbuilding/Ship Repair), Marine Biotechnology, Aquaculture, Marine Conservation, Ocean Literacy)
- Provide career guidance to youths in finding a place in the Blue Economy by creating a gamification tool for skills self-assessment – BlueGeneration Game
- Support students and teachers in discovering individual career pathways in the Blue Economy through the development of an interactive tool – Blue Career Pathway Tool
- “Train the trainers” by providing teachers, educators, and instructors with easy-to-use background knowledge on Blue Careers through an open, online course (MOOC), enabling them to support the guidance provided by the Blue Career Pathway Tool and the BlueGeneration Game.
Project Partners
10 partners in 8 countries join forces to
implement the Next BlueGeneration project.
Sea Teach SL is a Spanish SME located on Mallorca. It operates as a sea school providing a variety of vocational training courses in nautical tourism to students from all over Europe. As initiator of the BlueGeneration, the Next BlueGeneration and the We are Blue Schools projects, Sea Teach focuses on inspiring youth for the Blue Economy and Ocean Literacy.
ACTeon is a research and consultancy accompanying ecological and climate transition in Europe. Specialised in the “soft” components of environmental management and policy (i.e. values & perceptions, incentives to steer behaviour, prospective and policy evaluation, governance, mediation & communication…), ACTeon coordinates and contributes to key blue literacy and blue education initiatives from the local to the European scales, including the coordination of the EU4Ocean coalition.
Militos Consulting S.A. is a unique, dynamic and innovative 360 consultancy firm, with a strong European profile, international experience and many distinctions in the provision of integrated and ground-breaking consultancy services in a wide spectrum of fields, including skills empowerment, vocational education and training, entrepreneurship education, community building and awareness measures.
European Boating Industry (EBI) represents Europe’s recreational boating and tourism sector, including boatbuilders, engine manufacturers, equipment makers, maintenance firms, dealers, marinas, charter services, and related businesses. This industry comprises 32,000 mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, employing 280,000 people. As an established stakeholder at EU level, EBI’s mission is to advance and represent a sustainable boating and nautical tourism industry #MadeInEurope.
The SUBMARINER Network brings together actors from the Baltic Sea Region to actively promote innovative and sustainable uses of marine resources for the dual priorities of protecting our marine ecosystems and promoting sustainable economic development. The Network connects authorities, research institutions, civil society, and private companies, integrating local perspectives into transnational frameworks. As a flagship network under the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) and the coordinator of the Horizon CSA Blue Mission BANOS, we represent the blue economy at a trans-regional level. The SUBMARINER Network is a registered not-for-profit European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG).
The Faculty promotes science and research directed towards the application of contemporary scientific achievements in the area of Maritime Studies for the requirements of maritime economy in order to achieve greater economic success, as well as for fulfilling the requirements of all social factors, primarily with the goal of preserving the natural and other resources of the sea and the coast.
The Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI) is the Centre of
Excellence for Marine and Maritime research, innovation, and technology development. Institute’s vision is to drive sustainable Blue Growth, by addressing the needs of industrial and societal blue economy stakeholders. It comprises of ten centres in marine technology, marine robotics, maritime digitalisation, marine observation, marine and coastal ecosystems, marine biotechnology and aquaculture, the maritime human element, marine cultural heritage, marine and maritime policies and regional cooperation.
School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering is active in all areas of maritime transport R&D, being involved in projects about the design, marine environmental protection, safety analysis and human element. It has also been involved in projects with a policy analysis element while bridging R&D with education. NTUA has coordinated the Sea of Experience and participated in the MENTOR Project.
Innopixel is a Danish tech studio specializing in immersive digital solutions — VR, AR, 3D modelling, and 360° video. They partner with clients to craft purpose-driven interactive experiences that generate real commercial value. With a multidisciplinary team, they bridge design, user interaction and cutting-edge tech. Their mission: “handcrafting pixels to fit tomorrow’s reality,” turning your vision into virtual worlds.
The European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA) is a network of marine science communicators and educators. Founded in 2011, the overall mission of EMSEA is to act as a hub for the European ocean literacy community. EMSEA aims to promote and achieve ocean literacy throughout society. They do this by providing a platform for scientists, teachers, businesses and policy makers to share and improve their education and training practices on creating awareness of the marine environment, the blue economy and maritime careers. EMSEA coordinates the Network of European Blue Schools, the school community within the EU4Ocean coalition of the European Commission.