Technical experts are needed onboard navy ships so they can go out on sea patrols. File picture: Larry Cummins
The Department of Defence has been warned by an international recruitment company tasked with finding people for the Naval Service that the sector is "extremely competitive".
The Department of Defence appointed a consultancy firm, Flagship Maritime Consultants Ltd, last May to scour the maritime industry globally to see if it can find people with the necessary skills to fill vacancies in the navy.
There is a chronic shortage of qualified personnel in a number of key disciplines within the navy, such as marine officer engineers, engine room artificers (ERAs) and communications specialists. The technical experts are needed onboard ships so they can go out on sea patrols.
However, Flagship recently reported to the navy top brass, advising them: "The recruitment sector is extremely competitive at present given the lower rates of unemployment in Western economies and the post-covid economic rebound globally."
A navy spokesman confirmed this was the information received from the consultancy company. However, the spokesman added Flagship Maritime Consultants Ltd has said that its application process remains open and it is "receiving engagement" from some interested parties.
The navy is also short of other specialists such as operations officers, radio and radar technicians as well as electrical artificers and hull artificers.
The approaching critical shortage of such specialists had been flagged a couple of years ago by both the Defence Forces representative associations — PDForra for enlisted personnel and RACO for officers.
PDForra president Mark Keane, who works in the navy, said the news from the consultants doesn’t appear good, but it has come as no surprise to his association as it is well known the British Royal Navy and Canadian navy are suffering similar shortages.
The cruise liner industry is also seeking such personnel and there are shortages in certain sectors of the global merchant navy.
“We are competing against the private maritime sector and ironically we have previously seen a number of our members take up employment in this same sector,” he said.
Mr Keane said the Department of Defence now needs to review the current package on offer if the navy is to fill these vacancies.
“As it stands, the current package is not proving attractive. Needless to say, if we are to stem the tide of people leaving we need to address this issue with a degree of urgency, as time and tide waits for no one,” he added.