The Boating Industry Association (BIA) continues to set records with its Marine Jobs program which underpins its key priority to support careers in the marine industry.
BIA CEO Andrew Fielding said on day one of National Skills Week, “Since taking over sole delivery of the Marine Jobs recruitment platform, BIA has steadily built a multifaceted effort to promote careers in the marine industry across Australia.
“Over the past 12 months, this BIA program has increased engagement in the Marine Jobs program by 200 per cent, with views of the Marine Jobs online recruitment platform up by 57 per cent.
“The Marine Jobs Facebook Group “Find Your Next Career” now has almost 16,000 members who are actively looking for careers throughout Australia and New Zealand. In the last 28 days there have been 46 roles posted. These jobs are right across the marine and maritime industry, and include skilled trades, maritime and marine tourism roles.”
BIA has also expanded its reach through 30 events over the past year across multiple States where there have been more than 1,500 direct engagements with young people interested in a career in the marine sector. These events provided an opportunity to promote Marine Jobs to more than 15,000 people in total. The most recent event was held at the BIA Sydney Boat Show which enabled BIA to directly engage 600 school students who have an interest in marine.
The 2026 BIA National Jobs & Skills Survey highlighted the immediate and long-term workforce challenges facing the recreational boating sector nationwide, revealing there were significant opportunities to improve the operational capacities and financial performance of marine businesses through recruitment.
More than 90 per cent of Australia’s marine industry are deeply concerned about a critical lack of skilled labour.
The immediate demand for technical trade talent remains heavily concentrated in core maritime specialisations. Among businesses seeking to build their trade pipeline right now, Shipwrights and Boat Builders top the list as the most sought-after apprentices at 38.8 per cent, followed by Marine Mechanics (21.5 per cent) and Marine Trimmers (12.4 per cent). These skills are vital to maintaining the national fleet, where family runabouts up to 6m—including the classic ‘tinnie’—comprise more than 90 per cent of all registered vessels.
Beyond traditional trades, there is a parallel urgency for general operational capability, with 48.2 per cent of businesses looking to hire non-trade skilled workers and 25.9 per cent seeking sales and marketing professionals.
With 71.9 per cent of marine businesses actively recruiting over the past year, the survey evaluated the efficiency of various employment channels. The data proves that a multi-pronged, targeted approach works best. While mass-market boards have a role, specialised platforms like Marine Jobs, blended with grassroots school engagement and word-of-mouth, provide the most financially viable pathways to secure the next generation of marine professionals.
BIA is also working directly with Federal and State Governments to achieve structural improvements in the VET sector, from updated syllabus for Apprenticeships to promoting opportunities to improve Skilled Migration.
For more information, visit bia.org.au
