Employees as ambassadors

ESVAGT often uses its youngest employees to talk to potential colleagues about careers in the shipping company.

ESVAGT’s recruiting efforts aimed at young people has many facets and includes a large number of platforms to meet potential candidates. One of the most important methods is being visible at educational institutions where the young people are.

“We conduct a large number of visits to maritime training institutions; we conduct interviews on board training vessels – this year they were held in Lisbon on board the Skoleskibet Danmark, the training ship Danmark – and we are present at careers fairs,” says Nick Vejlgaard Ørskov, Head of People/HR.

Often, however, it is neither the HR department nor Crewing that plays a prominent role. ESVAGT uses young people in maritime roles or management trainees to tell others about their work in the shipping company. This is a conscious decision:

“We believe that it is easy for young people to relate to someone their own age when they want to hear about what we do. We are sure that they gain more from hearing our young people talking freely about their working lives and expectations we have for our colleagues at ESVAGT than they can from hearing it from us,” says Nick Vejlgaard Ørskov.

It takes one…

Young ESVAGT colleagues also act as scouts and recruiting ambassadors during their school time:

“We have some really good representatives that do presentations and recommend new colleagues,” says Tina Halkjær Nielsen, Recruitment Officer for ESVAGT:

“Part of what they do is to talk about what their work is like and their attitude and approach to their work, they tell a great deal about what it means to be at ESVAGT. They have the ESVAGT spirit! Our young colleagues have often tipped us off about a skilled classmate that we ought to talk to and I receive applications that mention that they have heard good things about ESVAGT from a classmate,” she says.

Hans Richard Pedersen, Fleet Personnel Manager, sees the advantages gained by having part of the evaluation process taking place in the schools:

- It takes one to know one, it is said; and having a potential future colleague recommended to us by someone who knows about the shipping company and our way of working is an excellent recommendation,” he says.

There needs to be potential

It is an important match – finding someone that people would like to have as a colleague,” states Hans Richard Pedersen:

“We are privileged to be able to choose people based on their values, attitudes, will and interest. When we recruit, we often look for potential, and in particular we look for their understanding of what it means to be a good colleague,” he says.

ESVAGT has approximately 170 non-able bodied positions that are training places and we take on every single one of the qualified applicants when they have finished school,” says Hans Richard Pedersen:

“When they become part of the fleet, it is up to the young people themselves to decide their path. We work from the philosophy that every employee is responsible for their own happiness, and having the ability comes with responsibility. It also obliges us to provide them with the opportunities needed for their talents to develop,” he says.