Offshore wind enters the classroom in Świnoujście. ORLEN Neptun to teach logistics and navigation students

The agreement comes at the moment Polish offshore wind stops being a plan. Baltic Power installed all 76 of its turbines this month, Świnoujście has an installation terminal from which the next farms are to be built, and for a school that has trained people for the maritime economy for 66 years it means a new field its students will enter straight from the classroom.

- Offshore wind is one of the strategic directions of development of the Polish maritime economy. Alongside the investments themselves we must build the human capital that will ensure their long-term operation and further growth. The cooperation of ORLEN Neptun, Świnoujście Offshore Terminal and the Świnoujście maritime school is a good example of an effective partnership between business and education - said Arkadiusz Marchewka, secretary of state at the Ministry of Infrastructure.

What the students will get

In the 2026/2027 school year specialists from ORLEN Neptun and the terminal will teach logistics classes about port operations, logistics, safety and the organisation of transport supporting offshore wind investments, that is how turbine components get from the factory to the quay and from the quay onto an installation vessel. New this year is a series for navigation classes: future officers will learn the specifics of sailing around wind farms, from installation vessels to the service craft that will leave port for the turbines every day over thirty years of operation. All sessions will be led by people involved in actual projects, so students will hear about the industry from those who work in it rather than from a textbook.

- The development of the offshore wind sector will be possible only if, alongside the investments, we build the competences needed to create and later operate them. That is why cooperation with the Maritime School Complex in Świnoujście is of strategic importance to us. We want to inspire young people to tie their future to an industry that will play a significant role in the development of the Polish economy in the coming decades - said Rafał Żendarski, chief executive of Świnoujście Offshore Terminal.

A school of 66 years with a new direction

The Świnoujście Maritime School Complex has trained for the maritime economy since 1960 and for decades supplied crews to the merchant and fishing fleets. Today, with an installation terminal in its city and further farms to be built a few dozen kilometres offshore, the school is opening up to a sector that did not exist in Poland when it was founded.

- The Maritime School Complex in Świnoujście has trained staff for the maritime economy for 66 years. The modern economy changes very fast, which is why our school must open up to new opportunities. This cooperation will allow our students to learn about new areas of the maritime economy and gain knowledge directly from people active in the offshore wind sector. It is an opportunity for the development of both the school and our students - said Marzena Gańcza, director of the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Maritime School Complex in Świnoujście.

Why this is more than a patronage

Company patronage of vocational school classes is common and often ends with a logo on the wall. This programme has three features that set it apart. First, it is delivered by practitioners from two entities that actually operate in Świnoujście, not by a marketing department. Second, it is part of the wider Polish Offshore Competence Centre Szczecin-Świnoujście initiative with the ministry's involvement, which gives it continuity beyond a single agreement. Third, it covers two trades, logistician and navigator, that offshore wind will need from the first day of every farm's operation, and that nobody in Poland has so far trained for this sector.

Baltic Power's service base in Łeba is to provide around a hundred permanent jobs for thirty years; every subsequent farm means a similar number, and the Świnoujście terminal is a separate market for port operators and forwarders. Demand for people who understand how an installation vessel differs from a container ship will grow faster than the number of graduates who know it. Świnoujście, one of the key places of Polish offshore wind, is becoming the natural centre for training them, and this agreement is about making sure the first of them come out of the local school rather than from abroad.