The global cross-industry mentoring programme
Your next generation of maritime leaders is already here. Let’s make sure they stay.
Crest Maritime Mentoring pairs emerging leaders across the global maritime industry with experienced figures who’ve shaped it — building the skills, networks and confidence this industry needs to navigate ever increasing uncertainty and talent development, retention and attraction challenges.
Why do we need Crest Maritime Mentoring?
Maritime is changing fast — decarbonisation, emerging technology on shore and on vessels, and a growing reliance on data are reshaping what leadership requires. Retaining and developing the people who can meet that challenge isn’t optional.
Crest Maritime Mentoring exists to help organisations invest in their current and emerging leaders — so that they flourish, stay, and go on to shape our industry for the better. It is a cross-sector programme that pairs Mentees with influential and experienced Mentors from the global maritime community. Organisations sponsor places on the programme for their own high-potential employees to take part as Mentees, giving them access to a network, a perspective, and a level of support that would otherwise take years to build — while sending a clear, visible signal about your commitment to talent development, retention and inclusion.
Get in touch to discuss sponsorship
How it works
Each mentee is carefully matched with a mentor from DSG’s pool of influential, experienced industry leaders, and the pair works together one-to-one over a 6-month period.
The programme is built around a series of workshops that bring sponsoring organisations, mentors and mentees together at key points — to launch the cohort, review progress at the mid-point, and reflect on impact at the end. Between these, mentees also take part in a bespoke Masterclass, designed fresh for each cohort around the themes and priorities that emerge during the programme.
Once the 6 months are complete, mentees join a growing Alumni community, with ongoing support and the chance to keep influencing one another and the sector over the long term.
The benefits of Crest Maritime Mentoring
For your organisation:
- Access for your employees to an expansive and diverse network of industry professionals from across the global sector — critical in a market that is heavily relationship-driven.
- A tangible demonstration of your commitment to developing existing leaders and high-potential talent.
- Sustainable and measurable impact on your DEI ambitions and metrics, both through the inclusive leadership behaviours the programme builds and by raising the profile of a diverse group of emerging leaders.
- Proactive support for the progression and diversification of your talent pipeline.
- Increased employee retention.
- A positive story to showcase through your internal and external communications, driving engagement with existing and potential employees.
For Mentees:
- The prestige of being invited to participate in a global industry programme.
- Higher levels of employee engagement — participants in mentoring programmes consistently report greater job satisfaction.
- Deeper knowledge of the industry, emerging trends, and the organisations and roles within it.
- Expanded professional networks.
- Exposure to fresh perspectives, experiences and ways of working.
- Improved skills, confidence, and a stronger approach to career development, networking, self-promotion and progression within their organisation.
For Mentors:
- The opportunity to use their influence to help shape the industry.
- An increased understanding of what matters to up-and-coming generations.
- Developing their own leadership insights, gaining useful feedback, and refining their mentoring skills.
- Expanded professional networks.
For the maritime industry as a whole:
- Showcasing the diversity that exists within our industry.
- Building a diverse industry alumni.
- Increasing cross-sector knowledge and collaboration.
- Enhanced retention and career progression of talent in the sector.
- A positive way to showcase the sector to those considering a career within it.
The impact so far
Mentees tell us Crest Maritime Mentoring has helped them with:
- Securing promotions
- Managing teams more effectively
- Developing strategic capabilities
- Winning new business
- Being better equipped to work with generational differences
- Gaining a better understanding of the broader maritime sector
- Recognising the benefits of considering different perspectives and learning from the experiences of others
- Becoming more confident in pushing beyond their comfort zone
To date, 100% of mentees participating in our post-programme surveys have said:
- their mentoring conversations were productive,
- they anticipate Crest having a positive impact on their professional aspirations,
- they feel more confident and better equipped for their ongoing career journey as a result of participating in the programme
- they would recommend Crest Maritime Mentoring to others.
Crest Leaders Roundtable
Alongside the mentoring programme, Mentors join the Crest Leaders Roundtable — bringing together senior leaders from across the industry to share experience and insight, both on mentoring itself and on the broader realities of senior people leadership within their own organisations.
Programme overview
Spanning a 6-month period, Crest Maritime Mentoring will consist of:
- Launch workshop: sponsoring organisations, mentors and mentees
- Phase 1 Mentoring sessions (2-3 sessions between mentor / mentee pairs)
- Mid-point review workshop: mentors and mentees
- Masterclass for mentees: customised expert input, responsive to programme themes
- Phase 2 Mentoring sessions (2-3 sessions between mentor / mentee pairs)
- Reflection and Impact workshop: sponsoring organisation, mentors and mentees
Followed by:
- Ongoing Alumni Programme: meetings every 6 months
- Crest Leaders Roundtable — ongoing peer network for mentors
Enrolling Mentees
Crest Maritime Mentoring gives your organisation a direct, visible way to invest in the next generation of maritime leadership — and to be part of a growing, cross-sector community shaping the industry’s future.
If you’d like to discuss securing Mentee spaces for your employees, please contact us
Get in touch to discuss sponsorship
