Mar 07 | 2019
“Internally, we are killing the industry and we don’t even know it” — those were the downbeat thoughts from one panelist at Breakbulk Middle East 2019.
“Internally, we are killing the industry and we don’t even know it” — those were the downbeat thoughts from one panelist at Breakbulk Middle East 2019.
Speaking in a session that tackled the issue of engaging future leaders, Folk Shipping’s Suha Abdulla Obaid called for protection of the sector and education of the next generation.
Fellow panelist Tina Benjamin-Lea, SNC-Lavalin logistics manager, added that as “we can’t take our knowledge with us, sharing that knowledge is crucial.”
In response, Mandar Apte, TechnipFMC project manager and moderator of the panel, called for the industry to “reinvent itself.”
“The job scenario is changing; we need to instill soft skills in students,” he said, advising that the sector needs to invigorate and inform students at an impressionable age about shipping.
“When was the last time I heard positive news about shipping outside of the shipping press?” asked panelist Jasamin Fichte, who founded the UAE branch of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association and is also the founder and managing partner of Fichte & Co. “What we need is a global PR industry to highlight our global achievements,” she said. “Let’s go and speak at schools and let them know what shipping is.”
Emirates Focus
Considering challenges in the UAE specifically, panelist Abdulla Almesterih Alnuamimi from the UAE’s Federal Transport Authority-Land & Maritime, or FTA, claimed that although the UAE is historically founded on seaborne trade there is a “knowledge vacuum” today.
According to him, young Emiratis are unaware that 90 percent of the items that they touch have traveled by sea.
“We need to educate them,” he said, adding that the FTA is playing the role of bridging the gap.
Another panelist Kim Larsen, vice president for port commercial and business development at Abu Dhabi Ports, added that the UAE has “a lot of great stories for the maritime sector” but that while positive news exists, it is not getting through to high school students.
“We are not on the same wavelength of the younger generation,” he said. “We need to change our language or it will be difficult to attract people.
Larsen called for the sector to work together to bring out its appeal, noting: “We are moving in the right direction, but it is slow.”
Photo: Mandar Apte speaks during a session at Breakbulk Middle East, while panelists listen.
Speaking in a session that tackled the issue of engaging future leaders, Folk Shipping’s Suha Abdulla Obaid called for protection of the sector and education of the next generation.
Fellow panelist Tina Benjamin-Lea, SNC-Lavalin logistics manager, added that as “we can’t take our knowledge with us, sharing that knowledge is crucial.”
In response, Mandar Apte, TechnipFMC project manager and moderator of the panel, called for the industry to “reinvent itself.”
“The job scenario is changing; we need to instill soft skills in students,” he said, advising that the sector needs to invigorate and inform students at an impressionable age about shipping.
“When was the last time I heard positive news about shipping outside of the shipping press?” asked panelist Jasamin Fichte, who founded the UAE branch of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association and is also the founder and managing partner of Fichte & Co. “What we need is a global PR industry to highlight our global achievements,” she said. “Let’s go and speak at schools and let them know what shipping is.”
Emirates Focus
Considering challenges in the UAE specifically, panelist Abdulla Almesterih Alnuamimi from the UAE’s Federal Transport Authority-Land & Maritime, or FTA, claimed that although the UAE is historically founded on seaborne trade there is a “knowledge vacuum” today.
According to him, young Emiratis are unaware that 90 percent of the items that they touch have traveled by sea.
“We need to educate them,” he said, adding that the FTA is playing the role of bridging the gap.
Another panelist Kim Larsen, vice president for port commercial and business development at Abu Dhabi Ports, added that the UAE has “a lot of great stories for the maritime sector” but that while positive news exists, it is not getting through to high school students.
“We are not on the same wavelength of the younger generation,” he said. “We need to change our language or it will be difficult to attract people.
Larsen called for the sector to work together to bring out its appeal, noting: “We are moving in the right direction, but it is slow.”
Photo: Mandar Apte speaks during a session at Breakbulk Middle East, while panelists listen.
