Leading safety training provider Stream Marine Group  will be shining a spotlight on encouraging females into the shipping industry with a special networking lunch to celebrate the International Maritime Organization’s  International Day for Women in Maritime.

SMG, comprising of Stream Marine Training, Stream Marine Technical and Stream Marine Careers, recognises the skills and achievements of its own staff and prides itself on training seafarers in maritime safety, working with alternative fuels, and developing the talent of the future with its cadetship programme. The Cadets side of the business has tripled in the last year, as more companies are placing importance on investing in new talent.

On Thursday (May 18) SMG will be bringing together seafarers from all levels across the maritime industry, all with a common goal of sharing and celebrating the importance of diversity in the industry for a special networking lunch in Glasgow, kindly sponsored by Serco Northlink Ferries.

The guest speaker of the event is Dr Suzie Imber, a planetary scientist, high-altitude mountaineer, and explorer.  Dr Imber is very active in getting young women into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education, which is also one of SMG’s goals.

Group Operations Director, Katy Womersley said: “Our mission for this event is to communicate the importance of accelerating the changing diversity in the workplace, in line with the IMO’s 2023 theme of “Mobilizing networks for gender equality”, thus highlighting the importance of collaboration and networking in achieving gender equality in the maritime sector.

“We are very much looking forward to hearing from our inspirational keynote speaker Dr Imber on her experiences and the importance of introducing young females to STEM subjects.”

Training Manager of Stream Marine Careers (SMC), Kellie McKechnie, has worked at SMC since January 2022 and previously worked at sea for over four-and-a-half years.

“We are delighted to be seeing a lot more females sign up for cadetships. The team here at Stream Marine Careers, which is made up of 75% seafarers, is working hard to ensure this continues by visiting primary schools to tell young children about a career at sea, to get them interested from a young age.”