Don’t tie yourself to one career, there’s lots of routes out there! Burning2Learn attended the show this January to find out what job roles are on offer for young people in the boating world
Exploring Careers At The London Boat Show 2016
Where adventure starts, pioneers meet
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and innovation shines.”
On January 11th, Burning2Learn visited the London Boat Show to explore potential paths to employment that the boating sector can offer young people. We believe that there is a missing link between the classroom and the world of work, and aim to strengthen routes to employment by identifying job roles and career paths that are suited to the interests and skill sets of the individual. Every year tens of thousands of us head to London’s ExCel Arena to take part in the world-renowned London Boat Show. From annual exhibitors to first time sailors, the impressive Show Floor is always full of life - and this year is no exception! With more than 400 brands showcasing their products and services, 2016’s show kicked off on January 8th and was officially opened by Made in Chelsea Star, model and sailing enthusiast, Lucy Watson. The show will run until Sunday 17th January, with visits from a variety of TV and sporting personalities across the week. You don’t have to be a boating fanatic to enjoy the show, and you certainly don’t have to have thought about a career in the industry to notice the amount of different career routes around the dock!
Have you ever thought about a career in engineering, catering, marketing, reporting, sport or travel? Perhaps you’ve considered learning a trade... Can you guess one of the things each of these professions has in common? They are all job roles that exist within the boating world. Had you ever thought about a career in the Boating industry?
7960 people from the South East are employed in the Boating sector and it generates £2.9 billion every year in the UK alone. The UK marine industry has 31,450 employees, which includes over 200 apprenticeship starts each year.
What’s On Now in it’s 62nd year, The London Boat Show is a global leader and is the first show of the year in the boating calendar. It is a lifestyle show that attracts visitors from across the country and is made up of exhibiting companies of all shapes and sizes. With close to 400 boats on display, the show also welcomed 27 new brands for 2016 and showcased 132 debuts; including 92 boats, 39 products and 1 automotive vehicle from event sponsor Land Rover. 2016’s show exhibited boats ranging from £300 to an impressive £16 million luxury yachts. The smallest boat on show is the Fish P180SF Inflatable Green from Plastimo Tenders, measuring 1.83m. The most expensive boat at the show is the Sunseeker 131 Yacht, measuring a breathtaking 40.05m.
The Mediterranean Bay
Key Attractions: Dockside
The Mediterranean Bay
Open to all, the dockside is a great chance to tour interesting and historic vessels. These include the Spirit of Falmouth tall ship, the fireboat Massey Shaw, the sailing barge Melissa and motor tugs, Kent and Touchstone. Visitors are also invited to climb aboard the largest boat at the show out on the dockside.
Tucked neatly amongst the sea of exhibitors you can find a quaint Mediterranean themed cafe-style eating area perched on the waterfront. The cafe sits a few paces back from an on the water play area which gives curious beginners and experienced skippers alike the chance to take a plunge and try out a variety of activities. It’s also a great chance to brush up on essential boating knowledge!
Land Rover Bar The Land Rover Bar has been brought to the show this year to present the next generation of technologies. Key features of the bar include a 3D sailing experience, the Land Rover Bar docking RIB, the ‘grind-off‘ challenge, the ‘pit wall’ display and a selection of the latest merchandise.
These are just a few examples of the extraordinary line up for 2016’s show. There is so much that goes into bringing the show to life and the exceptional hard work and enthusiasm that goes into creating the spectacle is a credit to the organisers.
Find Your Bearings At The Best Dry Dock In Town Princess Yachts Industry giant Princess has a remarkable exhibit at this year’s show and as we took a look around they shared with us a glimpse of what went into bringing it all together.
enjoys most about his job. He explained that he had grown up by the sea and had been walking past boats every day on his way to school. Later on he joined a local scouts group which naturally lead him into a job in the boating sector. He has now been working in Preparations began on 15th December when the first the boating world for 20 years and is still incredibly of the unloading began. From factory workers, to passionate about his job and why he does it. stand makers to sales reps on the show floor, a team of close to 90 has pulled together over the last few weeks Most of the people that work in this industry are to turn Princess’ vision into a reality. With most of extremely enthusiastic about their work. Whether the collection weighing in too large to drive onto their they are part of a large organisation or a smaller exhibition space, most of the boats visitors saw on sized company, the business leaders in this industry display were cruised into the dock and individually are very passionate about what they do and many lifted, strapped onto fitted crates and transported of the companies, large and small, are run by people who are passionate about what they do and why onto the show floor. they do it. Operations Manager for Princess talked us through his journey into the industry and shared what he
Some of the most stunning vessels of the 21st century arrived at Docklands for the show
Jeckells The Sailmakers This remarkable business has been manufacturing sails for over 183 years. Jeckells is a unique family firm with two generations taking an active part in the everyday running of the company. It was fascinating to chat to MD Chris Jeckells at the show, who recalled hearing about his grandparents’ and great grandparents’ experiences in the family business over the years. Through the generations, the Jeckells family have developed an international reputation for their quality products and designs. Their unique family-centred model and genuine commitment to the business is something all new business leaders can learn from. Burning2Learn believes that embedding core moral values - which we all learn from our own families - is essential to a new business’ long term prosperity and growth.
Allabroad Sailing Academy Amongst the exhibitors on the show floor was the Allabroad Sailing Academy from the beautiful ocean village, Gibraltar. The academy is Gibraltar’s only RYA and MCA Training Centre and features shore-based training facilities. The Allabroad Sailing Academy started in 1999 and now offers internationally recognised skipper training courses; for beginners and for full commercial Yacht Masters. When speaking to the academy at their exhibit, a representative said, “The biggest thing I remember learning at school is how to build boats... and that’s something that’s always stayed with me and I’m still doing it now”. For us, this highlighted the importance of early life experiences and how they can shape future career paths for young people.
When you think of the Suzuki brand, what comes to mind? Motor bike racing? Racing cars? There’s a lot more to many brands than meets the eye, and often many more opportunities than you would first consider!
Suzuki engine on display, London Boat Show 2016
Industry giant Sunseeker employs 1000s across 6 continents around the world Sunseeker Yachts Sunseeker is one of the leading brands within the UK and their display at the show features a wide range of luxury yachts. Sunseeker’s stunning vessels make up 5 of the 10 largest boats on display and their impressive range includes; Sunseeker 86 Yacht (26.3m), Sunseeker 75 Yacht (22.98m), Sunseeker 68 Sport Yacht (21.70m) and Sunseeker Manhattan 65 Yacht (21.07m). Sunseeker is represented on every continent by a network of distributors with motoryachts available from 40 to 155 feet. For over fifty years the company has designed, built and launched new boats and their style began to emerge, soon making it possible to recognise a Sunseeker vessel at a glance! This Sunseeker Yacht was one of many in their impressive range of luxury yachts on display at the show this year. Visitors were invited to tour the decks and get a feel for what the stunning vessels can offer.
How many job roles can you think of within the boating industry? Are there any that you would consider going into yourself? How many different skills can you think of that would be useful in this sector?
Is a yacht like this something that you would ever aspire towards having?
How can we prepare the next generation for working life when the jobs they’ll be doing haven’t even been invented yet?
Burning2Learn believe that society can also prepare young people by developing their life skills;social and business interactions, effective verbal communication,confidence, self-esteem and motivation. What would your response to this problem be? A representative from iCom said:
“The jobs may not be there but the industry always will be.” 4,500 Marine businesses in the UK 7,960 Employed in the South East
Beyond the Boats Job Roles In The Boating World
Carpentry, Steps, Ladders, Doors, Flags, Handles, Food, Drink, Clothing, Safety Equipment, Navigation Apparatus, Travel Books, Bedding, Bed Fitting, Lighting, Air Heating, Refrigeration, Cooking Appliances, Steering Wheel, Animal Care, Crockery, Seating, Tour Guide, Swim wear, Teaching, Rope making.
Alternative Career Routes Whether you’ve thought about it before or not at all, this industry can offer anybody from any background an opportunity to grow and learn new skills. The sector has an international trade revenue of £895.2million and offers a great variety of different employment options and career paths. If you think of a boat and what goes into making it, what comes to mind? Don’t forget the flooring, door handles, cooking and heating appliances, bedding and waste facilities. And that’s before you even think about the equipment you’ll need to navigate and stay safe at sea. All of these elements require different job roles, so why not do them in the boating world?
“There’s so many jobs that I never even thought about looking at. You don’t expect to see a dog grooming blanket at a boat show!” - Student
Water Sports Another career route within this sector is of course sports. Whether you are interested in long distance excursions or shorter sprint racing, there’s a huge market for water sports and entertainment. Not only are there a large variety of water sports to try out, but there are also the many essential service providers that come with it; from fashioning the right kit to building the vehicles to perform with.
Which personal skills do you think are most important to prospective employers within this industry?
Could you design the inside of this luxury yacht?
Find Your Skills and Unlock Your Talent It can be pretty daunting trying to decide which way you want your future to go; which career path to choose, which university has the best results. If you’re still not sure as that decision draws closer, why not try out a few new options that you haven’t thought about before? Experience is always a good thing and you may find yourself enjoying something new that you never imagined yourself doing before. Visit www.burning2learn. co.uk to find more opportunities.
Now It’s Your Turn To take action
Getting Creative with Problem Solving We came across a representative from ‘Grip-O’ who’s impressive invention is making waves in the boating world. This neat little design is a simple and effective solution to a very common problem within the boating world. It uses suction caps to grip ahold of the boat’s surface whilst maintaining the stability of your glasses and bottles through a fixed tray designed to keep your crockery still! www.londonboatshow.com Now it’s your turn; Can you think of a solution to these problems? • Sandy shoes coming onto the deck • Storage solutions for awkwardly shaped items • Lasting, nutritious and enjoyable food supplies for long-distance trips
Choose Your Own Goal In September 2015, The United Nations released 17 Global Goals For Sustainable Development. We believe that the following goals are the most relevant to the boating world: Sustainable Cities and Communities (11); Climate Action (13); and Life Below Water (14). Burning2Learn is encouraging all students, parents, teachers and business professionals to choose a goal that resonates most with them and to actively do something - no matter how big or small - to help achieve that goal. If you aren’t familiar with the Global Goals, take a look at the website as there’s a role for us all to play!
Saving Lives and The Planet At a recent Sustainable Brands event in London, Alexis Haass of Adidas shared the story of how the company is creating products and sharing stories together with their partners in a effort to change the oceans of a global scale. Alexis recalled when Adidas took a unique shoe design of theirs to the UN. The shoe was made out of gillnet; a 72km fish net hauled out of the ocean after a 110 day chase of an illegal poaching vessel. Adidas has consequently been able to ‘physically embody the story in the shoe’, and people all over the world are interested to find out more about it. Alexis emphasised the importance of sustainability becoming part of the company’s DNA and made a call out to all of their consumer to, “Come be the difference makers, come be the creators with us”. Alexis’ call to action is something that we can all learn from. Adidas exhibited at this years show and you can find out more about their work in sustainability by visiting their website.
Showcase Your Talents Could you run your own stand?
Our top 5 tips for presenting:
Do you think you’ve got what it takes to showcase • Communication is key and it’s something you can practice every day. your talent at a live event at London’s ExCel arena? What do you think are the most important skills • Smile, it reassures the person you are talking to and needed? helps to make conversations flow more naturally. Show like the London Boat Show are an excellent platform for companies and brands of all sizes to • Do your research; make sure you know what the show is about and why you are there! demonstrate their products and services to a large, versatile audience. But what makes a stand attractive? Which are the exhibits that visitors are most likely to • Rehearsing is a great way to boost confidence; planning a few short sentences that explain who engage with? you are, why you are at the show is a great way to get past any jitters on the day. You’ll be much The most important skill you can have is to be a good more confident about what you are saying which communicator. Even if you are feeling nervous before will make it easier to communicate with others. the show starts, being able to smile and introduce yourself goes a very long way towards having a great • Enjoy yourself! It’s a great experience to take part conversation. in and you are there to learn, so nobody will expect you to know everything.
We are looking for young reporters and photographers to join our Junior Media Team at more events throughout 2016!
Southampton Boat Show Autumn 2016
More Shows Coming Soon! Don’t miss out on great exhibits and opportunities later on this year at the Southampton Boat Show. How many different jobs do you think you could find around the harbour? If you’re interested in finding out more about Burning2Learn and joining our media team at more exciting events, get in touch with our team!
01322 614000 schools@burning2learn.co.uk www.burning2learn.co.uk