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Shipbuilder Harland & Wolff Group Reaches Milestone of 1,000th Employee

14th December 2023
With shipyards in Belfast, Arnish in Scotland and Appledore, England, the Harland & Wolff Group this week reached the milestone of 1,000 employees that includes delivery centres and commercial sites.
With shipyards in Belfast, Arnish in Scotland and Appledore, England, the Harland & Wolff Group this week reached the milestone of 1,000 employees that includes delivery centres and commercial sites. Credit: Harland&Wolffplc-facebook

With its largest shipyard based in Belfast, the Harland & Wolff Group has announced that it has reached 1,000 employees across the company's facilities on both sides of the Irish Sea. 

The international shipbuilding and marine engineering business continues to actively recruit new staff to meet demand at its UK fabrication sites in Appledore, Arnish, Belfast and Methil. In addition to their commercial footprint in Aberdeen, London and Southampton.

The milestone was passed this week and comes at the end of a significant year for the business, a year in which it was awarded, as part of the Team Resolute consortium with Navantia UK and BMT, a contract to build three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) vessels.

Andrew Jackson, Harland & Wolff Human Resources Director, said: “We are delighted to celebrate hitting the milestone of 1,000 employees. This is a significant moment for our company as we look to build-upon the progress we have made over the last few years and prepare to deliver key maritime and specialist engineering programmes in line with the UK government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy refresh.

“The £77m investment we’ve received as part of Team Resolute has of course been a key catalyst in our recruitment drive and desire to transform Harland & Wolff’s yards into some of the most advanced in the world. We are welcoming hundreds of new colleagues right across the business, and in all disciplines, talent that will ensure deep and enduring links with the communities with which we work.”

Published in Shipyards
Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore

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Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals. 

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Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.