IFB hears how maritime is booming

THE opening week of the International Festival for Business wraps up today after focusing on maritime, energy and logistics which employs 28,000 people in the city.

Each week of the 50-day event focuses on a different sector.

A programme run by Mersey Maritime, which represents 1,700 firms, included an analysis of the UK’s ports in conjunction with accountancy group Grant Thornton.

Chief executive Jim Teasdale said: “Liverpool is founded on its maritime trade so it’s appropriate that the International Festival for Business began with this theme. There’s been a lot of positive feedback from our members. The IFB is helping send a positive message to investors around the globe that the maritime sector on Merseyside is booming.”

According to Grant Thornton’s data Liverpool has performed significantly better than the port cities of Hull and Southampton in terms of employment growth over a 10-year period to 2012.  But it said the city region still faced challenges in terms of skills.