A social enterprise has launched offering people between the ages of 18 and 29 the chance to protect the seas around the UK while getting paid.
The Sea Ranger Service (SRS) will offer young people the chance to sail out to sea and undertake vital work to conserve Britain’s oceans.
Sea rangers will carry out a range of roles on sailing vessels, including maintenance work, climate research and monitoring. The day-to-day job can involve “anything from scrubbing the deck and preparing the food, operating the wind-powered vessels [that also have an engine onboard for safety], maintaining equipment, to more complex jobs like processing samples they collect at sea, making note of wildlife they observe, route planning and engineering – which is the more science element of it” according to SRS CEO Wietse van der Werf.
Founded in the Netherlands in 2016, SRS works alongside government agencies and has so far employed 120 people to carry out biodiversity restoration in oceans across the Netherlands and France.
Its launch in the UK will scale up the project and bring the company closer to its target of restoring 1m hectares (2.47m acres) of ocean biodiversity by 2040, as well as training 20,000 people to embark on maritime careers.
It aims to provide jobs to young people interested in environmental protection but who are often limited by more traditional career paths.
Werf said: “There is a younger generation out there that cares very much for the climate, for the planet. And, so far, I think the opportunity to do something about it is often limited to either activism or some fairly sort of academic intellectual type approach.
“So the idea is that we are creating blue-collar jobs, that is beyond just installing solar panels or working in offshore windfarms, that is actually actively restoring nature and doing the work that’s needed.”
The role is not for the faint of heart. To determine if candidates are fit for the job, they must take part in a rigorous bootcamp comprising a range of challenges testing motivation, teamwork skills and learning abilities.
Werf said: “The boot camp is essentially a way for us to select the young people that ultimately work with the ship … We’re not training soldiers, but we are wanting to ensure that we can really push the boundaries in a safe learning environment … It isn’t about being the strongest or the fastest or the smartest … It’s really about showing you are willing to work on your personal development. That’s when [the candidates] have the biggest potential in our eyes.”
The idea for the SRS came to Werf after observing illegal and damaging activity at sea while working as an engineer on ships in Antarctica. Having spent some time close to deprived coastal zones with high youth unemployment, he envisioned an enterprise that had both a lasting environmental and social impact.
He said: “If we’re looking for people to manage these oceans and improve sustainability and effective climate mitigation in the coastal zones, shouldn’t we then train and employ the very people that are available to do that, where we need those jobs to happen?
“If you look at areas like Grimsby, Port Talbot, Portsmouth, areas where there used to be a thriving industry, increasingly those jobs are disappearing. I just thought, it would be really important to start a programme to actually get that employment and those sustainable impacts happening there.”
Successful candidates will begin sailing expeditions from Port Talbot, where the ship is currently based, and be employed as full-time sea rangers. They will then be supported into work with other organisations, including government agencies and research institutes.
Werf said: “There are partners we work with that are really looking to attract young talent. And we can make that link happen … the sea ranger role really prepares you for a maritime career, essentially.”
Registration for Bootcamp is open. Candidates are required to be aged between 18 to 29 but do not need any previous experience before applying.
