There is so much demand for new cruise ships at shipbuilder Meyer Werft Gruppe Germany that the company is looking for as many as 250 technicians. That in itself is nothing strange in the manufacturing industry, everyone is looking for workers. What is perhaps more unusual is that Anyone who starts work at Meyer Werft Gruppe is guaranteed a job until 2030.
The Dagblad van het Noorden reports that extra skilled workers are needed to meet the orders. Until 2023, 22 cruise ships are to be built at the shipyards in Papenburg and Rocstock. Work is also guaranteed in Turku, Finland, until 2024.
MIl billion turnover
Thirteen cruise ships will be built in Papenburg in the coming years and nine in Turku. It will bring the shipbuilder approximately a turnover of between €15 billion and €20 billion. At Meyer Werft and a number of sister companies, they are especially looking for ICT workers, but welders, shipbuilders and engineers are also welcome. "The yard is currently implementing a new IT landscape. This involves, for example, launching SAP at several of the company's sites," Meyer spokesman Günther Kolbe told the Dagblad van het Noorden. At the moment, 230 young people are already being trained for jobs at the yard, but that is not nearly enough to handle all orders.
Although the yards have work until 2023 and 2024, the job guarantee is even longer: until 2030. ''We can do that because the cruise industry is booming. We therefore have high hopes and expectations that we will get more orders in the coming years. On top of that, the other big European yards in Italy and France also already have a lot of work in the coming years. The shipping companies keep ordering ships so they know they can come back to Papenburg from 2023."
3900 people employed
Meyer Werft already has more than 3,900 people on its payroll. Some more will be added to that, as the yard plans to phase out working with temporary workers, with several thousand temporary workers currently working at the yard. Despite the prospect of a year-long job guarantee, Kolbe argues in the DVHN that it will still be difficult to find the people. Because, after years of headwinds, the north German shipyards are doing well again. Kolbe calls it remarkable that relatively few Dutch people are applying for a job at the shipbuilder, although he cannot really say what the reason for that is. Another cruise ship is coming to Eemshaven in the middle of this month. It will be the AIDAnova, the first fully LNG-powered cruise ship.
Besides cruise ships, Meyer Werft also builds ferries, container ships and research vessels, among other things.
Source: Dagblad van het Noorden
