An Update from MD, Ian Livingstone

In my 25 years working in Marine Recruitment I cannot I remember a time when we have so many seafarers looking for work. Nautical Colleges closed, crew changes halted globally, passenger related activities torn apart and an oil price at historical lows. Thankfully domestic trade continues and we are grateful to the seafarers continuing to provide the lifeline services, ensuring the trade continues to move, harbours are clear and our navigational marks are well lit and fully operational. I am trying to remain positive despite the backdrop of terrifying news bulletins.In the midst of the chaos we launched digital recruitment and I am very pleased to confirm the candidates have very much embraced the sea change. Feedback from candidate surveys has generally been very positive, gaining a 4.3 star rating and providing us with valuable feedback. Most can see the significant benefits of our fully digital recruitment system.

Quick and easy to upload certificates and apply for jobs.

I like that it gives you a chance to display yourself to potential employers and give a wider spectrum of who you are and what experience you have.

The best feature is the ability to upload documents, rather than having to email them.

I would like to add my personal thanks for all those registering and applying for jobs on the new system and in particular the candidates who have provided feedback on their experiences. It is very much appreciated that many of you are facing real difficulties due to the ongoing crisis. Although we continue to fill gaps in the coastal trade there are simply not sufficient gaps compared to the numbers of applicants. During the boom times we have seen the polar opposite – lots of jobs and no people but never lots of people and few positions.

As a business we have had to quickly adapt to the changing landscape and we are fortunate that historical investment in technology has made the changes to day to day operations less difficult. The new digital recruitment system has been instrumental in ensuring staff can remotely access the certification copies we need along with other vital crew data in a secure environment in line with our GDPR responsibilities.

As well as the internal measures in place to ensure our staff safety, we have introduced various measures to try and mitigate risks for candidates joining and the operators ships by adopting self-certification of the seafarers pre-contract to confirm compliance with current legislation on social distancing and confirming they have none of the well-publicised symptoms. Additionally, where possible we are trying to find personnel close to the joining ports.

It goes without saying we are very grateful to the other key workers who continue to service the country, look after our wellbeing and help all of those around us. We are very much looking forward to seeing you all on the other side of this.

All my very best,

Ian Livingstone