Generation Next

Lloyds List June 16 2008 

There is a lot of understandable angst as to where the next generation of marine technologists might come from, with the best qualified marine engineers opting for hedge fund management, and naval architects mostly interested in the design of Americas Cup Yachts.

The Houlder Group, the design consultancy, which carries on the famous name of one of the most celebrated British shipping companies in the marine, defence and offshore industries, has clearly been thinking about these matters.

But more importantly it has acted, with a graduate training programme that has now been fully accredited by the Royal Institute of Naval Architects.

It is expected that four graduates will be accepted for the first of the four-year programmes, which will see them progress to chartered engineer status and eventually to corporate membership of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects.

Houlder is an interesting, progressive company, having become an employee benefit trust at the end of last year, which puts it on the same basis as the well-known John Lewis Store and rival BMT.

One wonders why more companies do not do this, motivating their employees like nothing else, and ensuring that the company is not snapped up by wealthy foreigners, like so much else in the industry.

Other benefits include not having the nonsense of wittering analysts and bleating shareholders, with all the owners, as it were, in-house.

As managing director. Rupert Hare notes: "Employees have the opportunity to shape the direction of the company, enjoy greater involvement in a wide range of business activities and proactively engage in the business".

It sure beats the well known 'mushroom principle' of management, under which so many of us have laboured for most of our working lives.

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