The energy transition in the port sector does not depend solely on new technologies, fuels or infrastructure. It also requires professionals who are prepared to face the changes the industry is undergoing.

Identifying the skills the sector needs, both now and in the coming years, therefore becomes a key element in moving towards a sustainable transformation. The results of two European projects carried out in the port sector show that combining the anticipation of future needs with the analysis of the specific needs of each professional profile makes it possible to design more effective training strategies adapted to the reality of the sector.

The energy transition is changing the way ports operate and the activities carried out in them. The adoption of new technologies, alternative fuels and more sustainable processes calls for transforming not only infrastructure and working systems, but also the skills of the professionals who make up the sector.

This transformation raises a question that is often left in the background: what skills will port workers need to face the changes ahead? For many organisations, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, anticipating these needs is not easy. Technological and regulatory developments create uncertainty and can lead to a reactive approach to training, as a response to problems that have already appeared. However, the results of two European projects carried out in the port sector show that identifying training needs systematically can help turn this uncertainty into an opportunity.

The analysis combines the results of BLUEPORTS and NeXTraIn.PortS, two initiatives that address the identification of skills from complementary perspectives. While the former makes it possible to anticipate the capabilities that will be needed in the face of the energy transition, the latter analyses the current needs of professionals according to their roles. Taken together, the results show that preparing the sector for the future requires knowing both what is coming and what is needed today (Monterde Higuero, Navarro Correcher and Sanz Argent, 2026).

Not all training needs can be detected by looking only at the present. In a sector undergoing a technological and energy transformation as rapid as the port sector, it is also necessary to anticipate which skills will be needed in the coming years.

The BLUEPORTS (Blue Careers in Net Zero Emissions Ports) project addressed precisely this question. During its implementation, the project identified the capabilities that the port ecosystem will need to move towards low-emission models, considering areas such as environmental protection, the energy transition, alternative fuels, digitalisation, automation, the circular economy and leadership.

To do so, the project combined a quantitative survey of 145 participants from Georgia, Greece, Italy and Spain with stakeholder workshops and in-depth interviews. NeXTraIn.PortS, for its part, surveyed 120 participants in Spain, Italy and Greece, to which similar data collected for the Port of Rotterdam were added. Together, both studies paint a broad and well-contrasted picture of the European port sector.

The BLUEPORTS results show that specialised training is currently acquired reactively. To build a truly resilient sector, that logic has to shift towards anticipatory training. The study already identifies the priority areas for 2030: alternative fuels and circular economy practices top the list, along with digitalisation, automation and leadership. The message is clear: skills identification must look ahead, not just at the problem of the moment.

Anticipating the skills of the future is only part of the problem. Companies also need to know what knowledge and skills their workers lack today, and this is where the findings of NeXTraIn.PortS come in, a European project focused on the skills and training needs related to the energy and digital transition of the port sector.

Its most forceful conclusion is that a single training programme for everyone does not work. Each professional profile needs its own pathway, with modular courses adapted to the daily reality of each category. The study also insists on continuous and innovative learning methods, and stresses that strengthening collaboration between industry and academia is essential, both so that training plans respond to real operational needs and to attract and retain young talent in the sector.

When the two projects are brought together, an underlying idea emerges: anticipation (which skills will be needed in 2030) and immediacy (which gaps must be addressed now) are not rival strategies, but two pieces of the same puzzle. From this come three practical principles that any organisation can apply.

First, combine macro and micro perspectives, cross-referencing surveys, workshops and interviews to capture both the major trends and precise role-level data. Second, work with a dual timeline, preparing at the same time for the skills of the future and the urgencies of the present. And third, steer clear of generic solutions: training must be modular and specific to each professional profile, not a one-size-fits-all suit that nobody quite fits.

In the end, the message of both studies is the same: investing in human capital is not an added cost of the energy transition, it is a condition for that transition to be possible. Methodically detecting training gaps, combining a long-term vision with granular analysis, is what allows an organisation not merely to adapt to change, but to lead it.

References

• MONTERDE HIGUERO, N., NAVARRO CORRECHER, C., and SANZ ARGENT, J. 2026. Detecting Training Needs: A Critical Step For A Successful Energy Transition. In: Expert Articles. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Sustainable Energy Education (SEED 2026). Utrecht, the Netherlands, 24-25 March 2026. https://doi.org/10.48544/5888204d-aaba-43f3-be98-158ad9f95bec

*Disclaimer: This English version has been generated with the support of AI-based translation tools. In case of discrepancies, the Spanish original prevails.