Training and developing new generations of skilled workers is key to ensuring not only the survival of these heritage crafts but of the trade itself, voices across the industry say.

Jim Dines, founder of the Heritage Marine Foundation, explains that the difficulty lies not only in getting national bodies and members of the public to recognise the decline of these endangered skills, but in motivating younger audiences to undertake a career in boat craft.

“We need to make the UK aware that there is a shortage of young people entering the industry and to bring it to the attention of young people that there is a viable career path in the industry,” he has said.

Students of the BBA launch their boats at the end of the 40 week course. Photo: Boat Building Academy.

In a recent article for Marine Industry News, Tom Marfleet, manager of Emsworth Yacht Harbour, echoes this call to action.

He identifies a lack of available training paths and clear career progression into marine industries, with most skills being learned on the job, as an obstacle to refreshing the workforce. An additional challenge lies in retaining already skilled workers.

To begin addressing this issue, Marfleet calls for more training providers and more incentives for small employers to take on apprentices. He stresses the need to market marine careers to young people, show them as a viable option, and ultimately elevate the public profile of boatyard work to make it a desirable industry to stay in.

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Addressing the skills crisis

The traditional boatbuilding community has already taken several steps to address the skills crisis and invest in boatbuilding training and professional development.

New bursaries and courses launched by the Boat Building Academy; crowdfunding campaigns from Dorset boat building, community surveys from British Boat Builders; exciting partnerships between the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis and the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall; and workshops and mentorship opportunities offered through organisations like Women in Boatbuilding are all part of breathing new life into the sector.

A Bursary for Women aims to dispel the stigma around women in practical skills industries. Credit: Boat Building Academy, Lyme Regis.

Still, the urgent need to replenish the workforce remains.

Like Marfleet, Belinda Joslin of Women in Boat Building calls for more bursaries and traineeships, as well as for the industry to focus on making marine and boatyard environments more open and welcoming to boatbuilders of all kinds.

She comments: ‘We have a wonderful opportunity to pass on some of the incredible skills still held by the people working every day in this industry, and we need to focus on that talent transfer.’

‘We urgently need funding for the Boat Building Academy — so they can expand. We need funding for Heritage Marine Foundation so they can train marine engineering apprentices to the high level we need.’

In a rapidly shifting market, where many jobs are under threat of being replaced by AI, ‘We need to be dynamic and forward-thinking and make our world accessible — [young people are] looking for alternatives, and it’s on us to get on their radar.’

A bright future for traditional boat building

Some of these efforts seem to be paying off.

In July, the Boat Building Academy’s most gender diverse course to date launched its newly-made boats in Lyme Regis. The course had its largest ever female cohort, with seven out of fifteen students being women. Previously, there had never been more than two.

Students of the BBA launch their boats at the end of the 40-week course. Photo: Boat Building Academy.

The Southampton Boat Show in September featured the first ever Wooden Boat Stage, in collaboration with Women In Boat Building and the Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association.

The stand highlighted enduring presence of traditional boat building in the leisure marine industries, as well as the importance of giving it more visibility. It featured wooden boat examples and offered hand-on demonstrations and a range of panel discussions, including one led by PBO’s very own Katy Stickland.

Katy spoke to a panel of young marine workers, who shared their experience of getting into the boatbuilding industry through a range of different routes. The speakers were Lola Morgan, Rigger at Swallow Yachts, and Sydney Fassam, a Marine Electrician at Sun Seeker, who went through the apprenticeship route; Indie Wix, a recent graduate of the Boat Building Academy; and Dan Lee, a self-taught boatbuilder.

Accessibility starts in the classroom, Joslin said, before revealing that the British Boat Building Academy is set to welcome its first female tutor in the new year.

The Academy is also working to set up 8-week paid internships for students to gain experience in different areas of marine work as a stepping stone between their training and professional development.

Interested in attending the Boat Building Academy?

Photo: Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy.

Enrolment is now open for a range of short courses at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis. The next 40-week boatbuilding course available for enrolment starts in February 2026.

For more details visit: www.boatbuildingacademy.co.uk.