Skills4Sea Project Successfully Launched in Athens
The Skills Acquisition for Sea (Skills4Sea) project officially kicked off with a two-day transnational meeting held on 26–27 January 2026 in Athens, Greece, hosted by Metropolitan College.
Ugurcan Acar
2/18/20261 min read
The meeting brought together all project partners to mark the beginning of this exciting European cooperation under the Erasmus+ Programme. The main objective of the kick-off meeting was to establish a strong foundation for collaboration, coordination, and effective project implementation over the coming months.
Setting the Foundations
During the meeting, partners:
Presented their organisations and expertise
Reviewed the project’s vision, objectives and expected impact
Defined roles and responsibilities within the partnership
Established the Project Steering Committee
Agreed on communication, quality assurance and reporting procedures
This initial face-to-face meeting provided an excellent opportunity to align expectations, clarify implementation strategies, and strengthen cooperation among partners.
Focus on Soft Skills in Maritime Careers
A key focus of the discussions was the development of a Non-Formal Skills Recognition Framework for the maritime sector. Partners exchanged ideas and agreed on the roadmap for:
Identifying essential non-formal (soft) skills required in maritime careers
Aligning these skills with European and international standards
Developing a structured competency framework
Creating modular training content tailored to maritime professionals
Engaging industry stakeholders for validation and endorsement
The consortium also discussed the upcoming research activities and stakeholder consultations that will ensure the project outputs respond to real labour market needs.
Looking Ahead
The meeting concluded with clear action points and a shared commitment to delivering high-quality results. The next partner meeting is planned to take place in Spain, continuing the collaborative work on developing innovative tools for maritime education and training.
The Skills4Sea partnership is excited to move forward and contribute to strengthening soft skills development, recognition, and validation within the maritime sector across Europe.
Stay tuned for more updates as the project progresses!
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