Building maritime careers, not just filling vacancies in International Shipping News 22/05/2026 The maritime industry has a recruitment challenge … but not simply because young people are uninterested in shipping. In reality, many young professionals are looking for global careers with purpose, development opportunities and long-term potential. The issue is that maritime has not always been successful at explaining what modern shipping careers look like, nor in equipping young people with the broad range of skills needed to thrive in an increasingly complex industry. For an industry responsible for moving around 90% of global trade, that presents a significant long-term risk. The future of shipping will depend not only on attracting talent, but on developing people who can navigate a rapidly changing commercial, technological and environmental landscape. That means the sector must think differently about recruitment and training; moving beyond narrow specialisation and towards broader, more rounded career development. Ocean Network Express (ONE) believes this approach is essential if the industry is to build a resilient workforce for the future. ONE SAIL Programme Graduates ONE SAIL Programme (Shipping Apprenticeship & International Learning) As one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, operating more than 280 vessels across 120 countries, ONE understands that shipping today requires far more than operational knowledge alone. Modern maritime careers increasingly demand commercial awareness, cultural intelligence, digital capability, collaboration skills and adaptability alongside technical expertise. That thinking sits behind ONE’s SAIL programme (Shipping Apprenticeship & International Learning) which was created to help develop the next generation of shore based shipping professionals through a more holistic model of learning and development. Now entering its ninth intake since launching in 2019, the programme reflects a growing recognition