The UK government has announced plans to shape, promote and collaborate with the maritime sector, double apprenticeships and launch a shipbuilding renaissance.
Transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said, Brexit Britain will be “the best country in the world to do maritime business thanks to more trade opportunities, more jobs and more investment in new technologies.”
The government has committed to working with industry to deliver an ambitious export plan for when we leave the European Union.
This will maximise new trade opportunities and significantly grow the UK’s maritime sector to become a global front runner in future innovation and technology.
The Transport Secretary spoke ahead of at a meeting with international industry figures at 10 Downing Street on Monday to kick-off London International Shipping Week, the biggest promotional UK shipping event in recent history.
The government has announced it will achieve a British shipbuilding renaissance by:
- creating a plan to shape and promote the maritime industry up to 2050
- collaborating with industry partners to significantly grow the sector by seizing new trade opportunities
- calling on maritime employers to double the number of apprenticeships they offer
- launching a British shipbuilding ‘renaissance’ as part of the National Ship Building Strategy
Grayling will shortly announce plans for a public discussion to help shape and promote the future of the maritime industry both up to 2050 and beyond.
This vision will look at how the government can support future growth in an industry which directly supports at least 111,000 jobs and contributes around £15bn to the UK economy each year.
The Department for Transport will also call on employers to double the number of apprentices they employ in order to boost skills, jobs, and productivity across the UK.
This announcement comes after the government published its ‘National Ship Building Strategy’, which aims to step up a prospective ‘renaissance’ in British shipbuilding.
Building on the government’s industrial strategy, it outlines an ambition to transform the procurement of naval ships, make the UK’s maritime industry more competitive and grow the Royal Navy fleet by the 2030s.
Grayling commented: “Leaving the European Union will allow Britain to seize new opportunities and rediscover our heritage as a truly global, seafaring, trading nation. Our maritime industry, far from being a story of the past, is a thriving success story – worth around £15bn a year to our economy and supporting a quarter of a million jobs.
“This government is determined to work with the maritime industry to help it grow significantly and make the UK a world leader for shipping business.”
