Women Offshore taps a Vibrant Workforce Base for Maritime & Offshore

In an industry that has spent generations trying to solve its own labor problem, the answer has often been sitting in plain sight. Not hidden. Not unknown. Just underutilized.

That’s the premise, perhaps the urgency, behind Women Offshore, a U.S.-based nonprofit with a global footprint that is working to open doors and connect people.

At the center of that effort is Liz Schmidt, an industry insider by experience, but not by design.

From the Lakes to the Offshore World

Schmidt’s path to the executive director role is not the traditional maritime résumé—and that’s precisely the point. “I have been involved in the marine industry as a whole, so to speak, for pretty much my entire life,” she says. “I grew up boating on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes … but like a lot of people, the maritime industry was never really shown to me as a career; especially not as a lucrative career for women.”

Instead, Schmidt cut her teeth in the nonprofit sector, working with organizations like the Red Cross and the YMCA, building programs, raising funds, and learning how to operate mission-driven organizations. It was work that would later prove invaluable.

The pivot came, as it did for many, during the disruption of COVID-19. But the groundwork had already been laid. A move to Fort Lauderdale, a center of global yachting, opened the door.

“I got introduced to this very cool part of the marine industry,” she says. “And I thought, I want to work on those. I want to see what that’s like.”

What followed was a hands-on immersion: deck work on yachts up to 120 feet, vessel deliveries, tow operations along the tight waterways of South Florida, even time on passenger vessels. She earned her captain’s license. She worked. She learned.

And she built something of her own along the way, becoming a partner in Shipyard Supply USA, a manufacturer serving large yachts worldwide.

Then came the call. “A maritime recruiter reached out and said, ‘We have a job that aligns exactly with your credentials.’ That’s when I was introduced to Women Offshore and the work they were doing.”

She’s been there ever since.

A Network Without Borders

Women Offshore operates without the traditional trappings of a trade association. There are no dues for mariners. No barriers to entry. No gatekeeping.

Instead, it functions as something far more dynamic: a connective tissue across a fragmented global workforce.

“We are a full 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the U.S., but we have a global reach,” Schmidt explains. “We work with mariners all over the world.”

That reach is not theoretical. It’s measurable.

Through a combination of digital platforms, storytelling, and direct engagement, the organization touched more than one million individuals last year alone. Its social media channels—particularly Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn—serve as both a showcase and a signal.

“We highlight women who are doing these jobs offshore,” Schmidt says. “It helps others see that they’re not the only ones—and for future mariners, it shows what’s possible.”

That visibility matters more than most in an industry where representation has historically been limited. Complementing that effort is a twice-monthly podcast, featuring voices from across the maritime spectrum — officers, engineers, executives, cadets — offering both perspective and, at times, hard-earned lessons.

And then there are the ambassadors. “We currently have nine ambassadors across the globe,” Schmidt notes. “They represent different sectors of the industry and different regions, and they help us stay connected to what’s actually happening offshore.”

It’s a feedback loop, by design.

Mentorship and the Missing Middle

If there is a single through-line in the workforce discussion today, it is this: recruitment gets the headlines, but retention keeps the lights on. Women Offshore has leaned into that reality.

Its mentorship program, open on a rolling basis, connects mariners at every stage of their careers—cadets, junior officers, seasoned professionals—often in both one-on-one and cohort formats. But it is the organization’s career services program that Schmidt points to as the most impactful.

“We offer career coaching sessions at no cost,” she says. “And that’s for people entering the industry, or those looking to transition.”

That transition—offshore to shoreside—is where many careers stall.

“What we find is there’s not a lot of resources available to mariners about how to do that,” Schmidt explains. “How do you translate your CV into a resume? How do you talk about your offshore experience in an interview for a shoreside job?”

These are not trivial gaps. They are systemic ones.

And they matter, particularly as younger mariners enter the workforce with a different set of expectations.

“We’re hearing cadets already talking about their five- or 10-year plans,” Schmidt says. “‘I’ll go offshore, but I know I want to come shoreside.’ So we’re helping them think about that early.”

In a sector facing a well-documented workforce shortage, that kind of planning is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Bridging the Hiring Gap

To be clear, Women Offshore is not a recruiting firm, but in practice, it often functions as something close. “We act as a super networker,” Schmidt says. “We’re connecting companies with mariners, helping both sides understand each other better.”

On one side, companies looking to fill critical roles, sometimes struggling to find qualified candidates. On the other, individuals navigating a complex and often opaque hiring landscape.

“We might say, ‘There’s a great job at this company. We know the HR team. Let’s get you connected,’” Schmidt explains. “And when we can bridge that gap directly, we’re seeing success.”

That success is not measured in placement fees or commissions. It’s measured in outcomes.

Perhaps the most significant, yet least visible work done by Women Offshore has been at the policy level.

Schmidt points to the organization’s role in advancing the SAVE Act as a defining achievement.

“The SAVE Act is landmark legislation,” she says. “It requires additional safety measures on Jones Act vessels … things like video monitoring, master key control … designed to prevent sexual assault and violence onboard.” It’s a sobering topic, but one that could no longer be ignored. The legislation, now law, has begun to reshape safety protocols across the U.S. fleet—and, notably, beyond it. “We’re seeing companies adopt these measures on vessels outside the U.S.,” Schmidt says. “Because it’s simply good practice.”

The work didn’t stop with passage.

Women Offshore has also collaborated with the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service to improve reporting and response mechanisms, helping ensure that incidents are not only reported, but investigated.

“There was, and still is, apprehension about reporting,” Schmidt acknowledges. “But there’s now a clear process. A flow chart. Mariners can see what happens when they make that call.”

For all of its programs, metrics, and policy wins, Women Offshore remains, at its core, a simple idea executed well. Access. “We want to create an industry where all individuals are able to succeed,” Schmidt says. Not just enter, but stay.