This year a further 24 young people will be offered the opportunity to sail during the summer, and seven more will have a summer job now that the Gothenburg Port Authority is sponsoring Gårdstensbostäder’s sailing programme. The ultimate aim is to encourage more young people to develop an interest in shipping and the port.
“For most people, the port is an integral part of Gothenburg and it is natural for us as an employer to reflect the diversity that is key to the demographic make-up of the city. The port as a freight hub employs almost 22,000 people, and if we are to sustain our impressive growth rate we need to attract new employees. This sponsorship scheme is part of the broader task of assuring an influx of expertise in the future and increasing the number of employees with a foreign background,” said Elvir Dzanic, Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive.
Over the past 16 years almost 400 young people from Gårdsten have had the opportunity to experience sailing and a sense of community. Today the Ungdomar & Segling (Young People and Sailing) programme is regarded as one of the most successful integration projects in Gothenburg and new for this year is the involvement of the Gothenburg Port Authority.
“Sponsorship by the Gothenburg Port Authority will allow us to develop our work and focus in the first instance on expanding activities for young people and giving them a chance to work during the summer. This is a welcome opportunity for the young people of Gårdsten,” said Salma Nazzal, head of the Gårdsten office at Gårdstensbostäder.
The port’s sponsorship initiative will involve 31 young people from developing areas being given the chance to experience harbour life and the world of sailing. Apart from the sailing camps at GKSS in Långedrag and at Æolusön, a number of summer jobs are being offered to young people as sailing instructors and harbour hosts.
“My hope is that the young people we are investing in will have their eyes opened to what we have to offer, that we are in their minds as a potential employer, and that they perhaps choose shipping, logistics or some other port-related profession as their future career,” said Elvir Dzanic.
Ungdomar & Segling is now firmly established. It was founded back in autumn 2005 by the Rotary Club in Långedrag and Gårdstensbostäder AB, which in partnership with the GKSS sailing club decided to start up an integration project focusing on young people and the world of sailing. The target group would be young people in the Gårdsten area.
Purpose and goals
-Provide young people from the Gårdsten area with the opportunity to learn how to sail and by doing so become better acquainted with the coastline and the islands, the art of sailing, and not least young people from other environments and areas.
-Broaden the contact network of the young people concerned and foster a greater understanding and respect for cultural and social differences.
-Provide an opportunity for young people from the Gårdsten area who are talented and have an interest to develop their sailing skills and move onto competitive sailing, eventually becoming elite yachtsmen, sailing instructors, and race officials.
The sponsorship initiative by the Gothenburg Port Authority will include a further 31 places for young people, giving them an opportunity to experience sailing, the ocean, and harbour life for a number of weeks during the summer of 2021.
-21 places at the sailing school for young people
-3 places for young people at a sailing camp at Æolusön
-7 work placements for young people at GKSS during the summer
Photo: Gårdstensbostäder AB.
