Pedro Suasi: “The mission of the Balearic Marine Cluster is to boost the nautical balearic sector”

In 2019, when the Balearic Government declared the nautical sector as strategic, it was born the Balearic Marine Cluster. A grouping of more than seventy companies which work daily to maintain the nautical industry as an international reference, through the start up of the projects of different areas.

But what is the mission of the Balearic Marine Cluster? What does it actually do to make the companies of the sector be more competitive? The manager of the Balearic Marine Cluster, Pedro Suasi, has visited the studies of Passion for the Sea, to tell us the incentives that they have been developing to boost the nautical balearic sector.

“The mission is to raise the nautical sector and the vehicles to make it happen are the work commissions” explains Suasi. And in the work group of the areas of training, work, innovation and promotion of destinies through the work groups formed by their own associations.

76 companies of the nautical sector of different areas such as marinas, refit, distributors, nautical services and startups are part of the Balearic Marine Cluster. “We have companies from all the islands, but for 2024 our intention is to amplify the number of associations in Ibiza and Menorca” , recognises the manager of cluster. To accomplish this goal they want to modify to their offer to be able to adapt to their needs of these companies. “It is the same nautic, but different realities” confirms Suasi.

One of their areas of work is the training and to incentivise the sector among the young, and create a pit of workers specialized in the nautical world. From Cluster moreover they support training centers, to make certificates of professionalism of level 1 and 2 in repairing and maintaining the ship. “The subject of the hand in labor is complicated to resolve, as there is a lack of people qualified for general training” says Suasi. in fact, for the next course there is already 86 students who have applied for one of the four courses that part take in the collaboration of the 36 companies of the sector. “The particularities of these courses is that there is a theory part and then they have a contract of 12 months with these companies” explains in detail the manager of cluster.

Balearic Yacht Destination is the brand that they use from cluster to promote the international destination.  Among the actions that they make stand out are the participation of nautical fairs in Monaco, Cannes, Düsseldorf… “What we do is give the opportunity to the companies that want to participate in these fairs but can’t afford it or cannot have a stand due to the lack of available space” explains Suasi.

Furthermore, in the Balearic Islands they organize Fam trips in collaboration with the Majorca Tourism Foundation. “We bring decision makers that could make more boats come to the islands and show them the facilities, gastronomy, the general destination offer” says Suasi.