Minister Marttinen: Need for skilled labour in marine industry grows – employment services and continuing education must be harnessed to meet demand

The demand for skilled labour in the maritime industry is growing. Competence requirements in the sector, especially for highly skilled tasks, are changing. This is the conclusion of a report on the skills needs of the maritime industry published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on 11 February 2026.

“The ship orders received by the shipyards in Turku, Rauma and Helsinki will employ thousands of people and create new jobs across Finland. We must ensure with the help of employment services and continuing education that Finland has a sufficient number of skilled workers to fill the vacancies in the maritime industry. It is important that we make full use of the current opportunities in the marine industry and that Finland’s skilled workforce can reap the benefits of this boom,” said Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen at an event for the report’s publication on 11 February 2026.

“In this employment situation, we need to increase the number of Finnish workers employed by the maritime industry and its subcontractors. Among the unemployed in Finland there are both professionals and highly educated experts who should now be encouraged to enter the marine sector to meet the need for skilled labour. We must make full use of employment services and, in particular, short-term further and supplementary training to attract career-changers to the sector,” Marttinen added.

According to the report, attracting young people into the maritime industry is essential for the future success of the sector. At a time of high youth unemployment, young people could try out the sector with a new recruitment subsidy, for example. Other employment policy instruments, such as labour market training and wage-subsidised apprenticeships, should also be utilised more. Further and supplementary training and retraining can impact the availability of skilled labour quickly.

According to the report, however, a long-term strategic plan is also necessary to meet the demand for highly educated workforce, in particular, and the skills required for product development and research in the marine industry.

Proposed measures of the report

The purpose of the proposed measures is to anticipate the need for skilled workers and ensure their availability in the maritime industry and its subcontractors.

The report proposes nine concrete measures focusing e.g. on improving the ability of the sector to attract and retain workforce, providing more diverse opportunities for training, enhancing the use of employment services, and introducing measures to increase the recruitment of young people and career-changers in the sector. In addition, the report includes proposals to support the ethical and sustainable use of foreign labour.

Next steps: Maritime industry strategy and regional development work

The report on the skills needs states that the measures on competence development and availability of skilled labour should be a key element in the Government’s strategy for maritime industry, which is currently under preparation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

An additional regional study will be required to predict more accurately the time, location and type of workforce necessary for the matching of labour supply and demand in the marine industry. The report recommends that the Economic Development Centres draw up foresight and development plans together with key stakeholders in their regions to evaluate the measures required to meet the skills needs of the maritime industry.

Next, Minister of Employment Marttinen will attend stakeholder meetings in the Finnish regions where the maritime industry is centred and discuss in more detail the measures proposed by the report.

Inquiries
Teresa Salminen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Employment, tel. +358 295 047 318 (questions to the Minister of Employment) 
Minna Nieminen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 366
Markku Virtanen, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 049 068

The Ministry’s email addresses are in the format [email protected]