If there is one factor that will shape your 2026 plan, it is this: having the right people ready, in the right roles, at the right time.
It is an uncomfortable truth in maritime. Demand shifts fast. Regulation keeps evolving. Decarbonisation and digitalisation are accelerating the pace of change. And many organisations are carrying workforce assumptions that were built for a different operating reality.
The biggest risks rarely show up as a single hiring problem. They appear as five connected gaps:
Workforce risk is now delivery risk, for compliance, safety, uptime, customer commitments, and growth.
1. Critical role gaps
These are the roles where ‘leaving it vacant’ creates immediate operational exposure. You will recognise them by symptoms such as:
Repeated re-advertising for the same hard-to-fill roles
A small number of individuals holding disproportionate operational knowledge
Projects slipping because one specialist is unavailable
Salary inflation or counteroffers becoming routine
Critical roles create single points of failure. When they are missing, you can end up compensating by overloading top performers, delaying maintenance, accepting more risk, or scaling back ambition.
What can we do about critical role gaps?
Start by creating a business-critical roles list that clearly sets out which positions protect delivery and ambition in 2026. Once you’ve identified them, prioritise the list using a simple, consistent set of measures: how disruptive a vacancy would be, how long it typically takes to hire, how scarce the skillset is in the market, and how exposed you are to attrition in that role family.
With those priorities agreed, align your internal approvals early for the highest-impact roles, so you can move quickly when someone resigns or demand spikes, rather than losing weeks to budget cycles and sign-off.
For the roles at the top of your business-critical roles list, consider two routes. Retained search helps secure permanent hires where the impact of getting it wrong or leaving it vacant is high. Experts on Demand gives you immediate specialist capacity for projects, interim cover or short-term spikes, protecting delivery while longer-term hiring catches up.
2. Skills & capability gaps
This is about whether your current workforce can safely, confidently and profitably deliver the 2026 operating model.
Common examples include:
Alternative fuels readiness, hazardous materials handling, and new safety procedures
Digital systems (condition monitoring, performance analytics, ECDIS/e-navigation updates, cyber hygiene)
New commercial and regulatory requirements driven by decarbonisation goals
Unsurprisingly, AI is becoming one of the most cited skill gaps
Skills gaps create hidden costs: incidents, delays, non-conformities, audit findings, rework, reduced vessel/asset performance, and slower adoption of new processes.
What can we do about skill & capability gaps?
To close skill and capability gaps, start by being specific about what ‘ready for 2026’ means. Identify the skills that have the greatest impact on safety, compliance and operational performance, then check coverage role by role. Don’t assume a certificate equals capability. What matters is whether people can apply the skill under pressure, in real situations. Once you’ve got that picture, prioritise training that protects compliance today, strengthens day-to-day operational competence, and prepares teams for what’s coming next, from new fuel pathways to digital tools and change leadership.
3. Succession gaps
Succession gaps occur when future role coverage hasn’t been built in advance, leaving you exposed when key people move on or responsibilities shift. The Senior Maritime Executive Report revealed that just 17% of maritime executives feel very confident that their business has a clearly defined and active succession plan.
Succession gap indicators include:
“If X left, we’d be stuck” conversations
Acting roles lasting 6–12 months
Performance reviews that describe potential but lack development pathways
Knowledge held in people rather than systems
Without succession depth, every resignation becomes a disruption. You lose momentum, confidence, and organisational memory, especially across technical and operational roles.
What can we do about succession gaps?
For each role on your business-critical roles list, aim to build ‘two-deep’ coverage by being clear about who could step in at short notice and who is realistically on track to be ready within the next 6–12 months. That clarity then needs to translate into practical development moves that accelerate readiness, such as targeted secondments, ship-to-shore exposure, structured mentoring, stretch assignments that mirror the real demands of the role, and simulator time, where it strengthens operational decision-making.
At the same time, protect continuity by capturing critical knowledge in a way that’s usable day to day. That means structured handovers, simple playbooks that explain how work is done and why, documented maintenance logic, and a disciplined approach to recording and sharing incident learnings so expertise isn’t trapped in individuals.
4. Flexibility gaps
Flexibility is the ability to respond quickly when plans shift, demand changes, or the unexpected happens. It strengthens resilience by giving you options to maintain safe, consistent delivery under pressure.
Symptoms of flexibility gaps in your workforce:
Peaks in work create bottlenecks because only one team can do the work
Contractors are used reactively, without governance or consistent quality
Projects compete with business as usual, and both suffer
Rostering constraints reduce options
Flexibility gaps mean you can’t absorb volatility, whether that’s a new contract win, a regulatory shift, unplanned downtime, or accelerated project timelines.
What can we do about flexibility gaps?
Build a ‘flex layer’ that gives you additional capacity and specialist support when priorities shift or workload spikes. This can include pre-vetted contract talent, project teams you can mobilise quickly, fractional specialists for niche expertise, and internal capability that’s been cross-trained so you’re not reliant on a single team or individual.
Keep cross-skilling purposeful and tied to real bottlenecks. Focus on the areas where added versatility improves continuity, reduces delays, and strengthens operational resilience.
To make contingent support effective and safe, set clear rules of engagement. Define consistent onboarding standards, competence checks, safety expectations and the documentation required, so external resources can integrate quickly and deliver to the same standards as the rest of the organisation.
5. Talent pipeline gaps
Pipeline gaps show up as constant firefighting: always hiring, always short, always late.
Common causes:
Limited entry points (cadets, grads, apprentices, trainees)
Weak employer brand in specific geographies or disciplines
Poor conversion rates (offer acceptance, medical/visa attrition, dropout during onboarding)
Training capacity constraints and limited berths/placements
Pipeline gaps create predictable shortages, particularly as demand for specialised skills rises.
What can we do about talent pipeline gaps?
Start by mapping your talent funnel end to end, from initial awareness through application, assessment and offer, right through to onboarding and the first 90 days in role. This gives you a clear view of where momentum is being lost and which stages create avoidable drop-off.
Once you have that visibility, focus first on fixing the “conversion leaks” that weaken results, such as slow process steps, inconsistent assessment, unclear communication, or offer delays. Improvements here often deliver faster gains than simply investing more in attraction, because you’re increasing the proportion of people who successfully move from interest to hire and then to early retention.
Finally, make it easier for experienced talent to return. A re-join strategy can include alumni networks, returner-style programmes, and flexible working patterns that appeal to people who want to re-enter the sector or step back into roles in a more sustainable way.
Final thought
Workforce planning for 2026 and beyond works best when it is treated as a readiness priority linked directly to delivery. It starts with clarity on which roles protect safe and consistent operations, which capabilities need strengthening, and where additional cover is required to absorb change and unexpected pressure.
A quick way to get moving is to agree on a clear list of business-critical roles, review capability coverage against 2026 priorities, and measure succession depth so you know where there is reliable role coverage and where there isn’t.
These steps bring the gaps into view quickly and give you a practical basis for action.
Need to close a gap quickly?
Retained search can secure high-impact permanent hires, and Experts on Demand can provide specialist capacity for projects, interim cover or peak workloads.
Get in touch to discuss what’s most appropriate for your 2026 priorities.
