The award is established to inspire recruitment and recognizes shipowners who offer training programs to young maritime talents. When awarding Odfjell with the prize, Prime Minister Solberg said:

“Norway is one of the world’s leading maritime nations, and we are the world’s fourth-largest shipping nation. To maintain and strengthen the role as a shipping nation globally, we must take the lead, raise the bar, and move the boundaries for what is possible.”

“To succeed, the industry depends on being an attractive place to work for young talent. Odfjell has, for several years, worked systematically to recruit young talent to the company. They have hired a considerable number more talent than they actually need, to help give as many as possible a start on their maritime career.”

Recruit to retain

The Norwegian maritime schools see a growing interest from students this year, with an almost 10% increase in applicants compared to 2020.The most popular educations note a growth of a total 35%.

Through the years, Odfjell has recruited several hundred Norwegian trainees and cadets. A recent inhouse study showed that more than 80% continue their career in the maritime industry, whether at Odfjell or elsewhere.

This year, we recruit 18 new talents to sign on this summer, the same number as record-breaking 2020. 2021 also marks another first, with one-third of the enrolled students being women.

The cadets joining Odfjell receive structured training in a multi-cultural environment while sailing worldwide. The young talents are closely followed up by the crew on board, and get hands-on experience in the multitude of tasks involved in the specialized chemical tanker trade.

Competitive competenc

When accepting the award, COO Harald Fotland said:

“We are proud to receive this award, and pleased that we have the opportunity to give young talents a start on their career on board our ships. To stay competitive, we depend on continuously attracting new and motivated seafarers with high competence. In our experience, Norwegian cadets and trainees have all that.”

Fotland highlights that Norwegian maritime competence development rests on four important pillars:

1. Motivated applicants
2. A stable and long-term framework
3. High-quality, updated education
4. Companies that facilitate for systematic and solid training of the candidates who come on board

“In our experience, the framework conditions are in place, and will hopefully continue to be so for the unforeseeable future. We could not take this leap if it wasn’t for the solid quality of the Norwegian education institutions, and the engaged national trainee offices that facilitate continuous recruiting. Therefore, Norwegian shipping companies are in a good position to keep building a first class maritime competence for the future.”