Hoping to Inspire Women to Choose the Maritime Industry

“Coming from Ulsteinvik, a town more or less built on the shipyard industry, the maritime industry has always been an obvious career option. But the engineering jobs, like ship design, were never really something I considered: I love working with people, and I love negotiating,” says Marit Fosse. Already at the start of her shipping management studies, she had decided that being a shipbroker was what she wanted.

unique way. When mentioning her ambitions to a school friend who happened to work at Grieg Logistics, she informed her about an open position at Grieg Shipbrokers. In June last year, Marit started her new job. “This early in my career, it’s all about building trust and a network, and I definitely feel like I’m well on my way. I love the fact that we operate in an ever-changing market, and that every day is different.”

Inspiring Diversity

Marit hopes that she can inspire more women to choose a job in the maritime industry, especially as shipbrokers. Out of about 40 employees in Grieg Shipbrokers, only three are women. But she emphasises that it’s not because the company doesn’t focus on diversity. “I definitely get the impression that Grieg has equality and diversity on the agenda and wants to recruit more women. And the work environment here is great – we’re a very close-knit group, and I really feel welcome and that I fit in,” she says.

Trainee Blue Sea

Outside of work, Marit is a part of the network Trainee Blue Sea, arranged by the foundation Maritime Bergen, of which several of Grieg Group’s subsidiaries are members. The network aims to lower the threshold for maritime companies to hire new graduates by assisting with recruitment and offering a 12-month tailor-made trainee program. The network also has regular events for the trainees, covering different topics within the industry, such as sustainability and the green transition in the maritime sector.