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Marine Technologies

Marine technologies include... the manufacture of engines and turbines and the building and repairing of ships and pleasure boats.

This page offers a wealth of information and resources to help you investigate working in this sector or to help you read up to impress in applications and interviews.

Contents include

Overview

Marine businesses in the South West generate a turnover of over £1.3 billion per year. The geographical location of the South West, with its extensive coastal waters makes it an ideal base for marine businesses to locate. Consequently there is a strong tradition of maritime activity in the region across a diverse range of companies from commercial and leisure to defence and marine science.

As a major centre of UK production, the South West has several prestige builders of luxury yachts and high performance power craft, together with world class marinas. These are supported by commercial operations with specialist shipyard facilities specialising in repairs and refits of small and medium ships as well as supporting the Naval force. Businesses in the South West account for 27% of all UK shipbuilding and ship repair workers.

Type and location of work

The following key facts about the Marine sector were drawn from the Annual Business Inquiry which is a survey that collects employment and financial information from businesses.

The Annual Business Inquiry data shows both the number of businesses in the sector and the number of employees.

In 2007:

There were 360 Marine businesses in the South West.
The majority of these businesses (94%) had fewer than 100 employees.
The sector employed some 13,200 employees (0.6% of the South West workforce).

The main sub-sectors in terms of employee numbers were:

The building and repair of ships (7,400 employees).
The building and repair of pleasure and sporting boats (4,000 employees).
The manufacture of engines and turbines (1,700 employees).

The main sub-sectors in terms of number of businesses were:

The building and repair of pleasure and sporting boats (182 businesses).
The building and repair of ships (127 businesses).
The manufacturing of engines and turbines (51 businesses).

The top three Local Authority Areas (LAAs), in terms of numbers of Marine businesses located within them, include: Devon (84 businesses); Cornwall (83 businesses); and, Dorset (39 businesses). 57% of all Marine businesses in the South West were located in these three sub regions.

Summaries of the key industry facts for these LAAs are shown below:

Devon: 95% of businesses (80 businesses) had less than 100 employees. The main industry in this LA was the building and repair of pleasure and sporting boats (44 businesses).
Cornwall: 98% of businesses (81 businesses) had less than 100 employees. The main industry in this LA was also the building and repair of pleasure and sporting boats (42 businesses).
Dorset: All marine businesses (39) in this LA had less than 100 employees. The building and repair of pleasure and sporting boats and building and repair of ships were the main industries.

Major employers

Click here to view the major marine technologies employers in the South West.

(Simply tick the 'Marine' box under 'Industry sector' and hit 'search'. This will bring up many of the major marine technologies employers in the region)

Job roles in this sector

Explore job roles... in marine technologies.

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Skills deficits

Skills deficits are normally understood as either a skills shortage where there are hard to fill vacancies resulting from a lack of skills, qualifications or experience in applicants, or as a skills gap, referring to employees that are not proficient at their current job. Sometimes a sector will report the skills deficits specifically as a skills shortage and/or as a skills gap, these are highlighted where available.

Skills gaps or shortages provide opportunities for graduates to fill! Talk to your tutor or careers service about how you can develop skills that are in short supply to give yourself the edge in the job market.

The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA) reported in 2007 that the occupational profile of the UK Marine sector included a high proportion of craft and operator/assembler roles and a lower proportion of professional engineers than in other engineering sectors.

UK Skills shortages, reported by SEMTA, as hard to fill vacancies are greatest at the craft level and included:

Engineering
Electrical/electronics
Welding and fabricating

SEMTA also anticipate that there will be UK vacancies in the next five years for:

Metal workers
Pipe workers
Electrical engineers
Employees with previous work experience

In addition, in 2006-2007, 24% of boatbuilders reported hard-to-fill vacancies in the previous 12 months, particularly for carpenters, joiners and laminators. Technician posts were also hard to fill.

General skills gaps within the UK Marine sector highlighted by SEMTA include:

Technical workforce development
Leadership and management skills (in particular project management skills)

The SEMTA Sector Overview provides a summary of future sector requirements for employees and skills. It highlights that there is a demand for ‘work-ready’ graduates with relevant degrees who have what it takes to move sector companies forward. They include naval architects and marine electrical engineers capable of using the latest technology and materials in design.

There is a particular need for graduates with relevant technical design skills who are able to both use the latest technological developments and provide technical customer support.