The industry today — jobs, demand and future

Maritime crafts are small trades. Not many boat builders and sail makers are trained here each year and precisely because of that each trained craftsperson is valuable. When a trade is narrow it also means that the one who masters it can often find work — there are simply few others offering it.

§Where do you work?

As a boat builder you find work at boat yards that build and repair leisure boats and smaller vessels and at companies that maintain boats in wood and fibreglass. As a sailmaker you work at sailmaking companies that make and repair sails, calashes, tarpaulins and rigging — both for sailing and professional use.

• 01Boatyards that build and repair boats
• 02Sailmakers and companies with cloth tarpaulins and canvas
• 03Companies that maintain maritime equipment and rigging
• 04Own business once you have experience and a customer base.

§Demand.

Denmark is one of the European countries with the most industrial robots per capita.

§Tradition meets new technology

Even though the trades carry long traditions they do not stand still. Fibreglass and modern composite materials take up much space in boat building alongside classical woodcraft and sailmakers today use computer programs to design and develop sails before they are cut and sewn. Being able to combine old knowledge with new methods is a strength in both trades.

§A trade you stay in

Many who choose maritime crafts do so out of love for the craft and for the sea — and stay in the trade a long time. It is not a mass profession but precisely because of that a trade with identity pride and close professional community. If you choose it you choose something that matters to those who pursue it.

“Few learn the trade — and precisely because of that, the one who does it well is hard to replace.”