The shipping industry needs to abandon its current mindset and to instead welcome new technology and embrace this current generation – who represent both our future and our heritage, according to maritime lawyer Julian Clark.

“We need to work with them and understand them,” he advised via the LISW21 website this week. “Embed within our organisations a culture of diversity, inclusion and environmental concern. This is morally right but also essential for this group who will be our future leaders.”

In his talk, the second in an informative series of London Talks videos which lead up to London International Shipping Week 2021 (LISW21), Mr Clark, Global Senior Partner with Ince, described Generation Z (those born between 1995 and 2015) as “truly revolutionary”.

This generation, the oldest of whom are now entering the workplace as seafarers, shipping executives and lawyers, have an incredible range of knowledge gained from the newest technology which they have largely grown up with. They are highly educated and used to having instant information and results at their fingertips. “They think very differently,” he pointed out, warning that they will also “vote with their feet” if workplaces don’t meet their expectations.

Mr Clark said he enjoys engaging in discussion with the young people in his firm, describing them as “more radically, ethically and racially diverse than any other generation we’ve seen”. He enthused: “Their passion for these issues really creates in me a sense of inspiration and enthusiasm.”

And he advised viewers: “Let’s engage with them now, let’s work with them now and create this future – for ourselves but, more importantly, for them.”

Julian Clark’s London Talks presentation – “Our Youth of Today and the Role That They Will Play in Tomorrow” – can be viewed here: https://londoninternationalshippingweek.com/london-talks/

London International Shipping Week 2021 runs from September 13 to 17, 2021. For more information see the dedicated event website: www.londoninternationalshippingweek.com