Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help support (a) skills development and (b) training in the maritime sector.

DfT remains committed to delivering a maritime workforce, with the skills and people it needs, both now and for the future.

DfT works with the Maritime Skills Commission in assessing the sector’s current and future skills needs. DfT and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are working with industry to future-proof seafarer training through the Cadet Training and Modernisation Programme and the Ratings Review. This will ensure UK seafarers remain highly skilled, and equipped with the training to handle new vessels, fuels and future technologies.

DfT supports 50% of the cost of cadet training through the £18 million Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) fund and is updating the 2017 SMarT Review and Seafarer Projections report. These reports provide the evidence base and analysis for SMarT and the UK’s need for seafarers over the next decade.