Who We Are

Who we are is about what we believe and do.

We believe Gandhi’s statement: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
The NPO, PROJECT CONNECT, established on May 27, 2015, offers a rainbow of opportunities to young professionals in-the-making to help jump start their careers in the shipping industry they have selected. We facilitate the sharing of resources through professional assistance where needed and have placed over 70 candidates in shipping companies in the last years, via our CV Platform, the first online cv database of shipping and business students and entry level graduates.

PROJECT CONNECT is an influencing force, contributing to the cultivation of Greece’s next generation workforce; many Founding Members of reputable shipping companies & the maritime cluster share our vision of offering work experience to “young professionals in-the-making”, in order to sustain the excellence in the Greek Shipping Industry!

In January 2019, PROJECT CONNECT successfully implemented maritime knowledge in Greek elementary schools for the first time, through the Cypriot educational program “Adopt a Ship”. By 2020, 33 classrooms from 16 public and private schools have been communicating with 26 seagoing vessels’ masters from 14 shipping companies. By 2021, 57 classes of 33 public and private elementary schools have been communicating with 48 seagoing vessels’ masters from 24 Greek shipping companies. In total, “Adopt a Ship” program is branding the Hellenic Shipping Industry in 1300 pupils.

Our Vision

We envision a changing-for-the-better future Greece, by sustaining one of its top resources, the Greek Shipping Industry Success Story. We support the “can do” mind set and the aim for excellence that has built it. We instill this mind set into the next generation workforce, who shall ultimately reinforce Greek Shipping’s competitiveness in the international arena.
We all must be part of this change.

Our Mission

To enhance opportunities for youth employability in Greece by offering internships and placements in ship operations departments and in vessels, where the new entry will absorb expert know-how and experiences from the “brain bank” (managers, captains and principals) and develop skill sets.

What’s the chain about?

“Each one of us is a link in one united chain. Let’s ensure we are strong and linked tight.” Irene Notias

The chain created by Ms. Eva Divari, is symbolic as a chain is absolutely just as vulnerable as its weakest link and it just needs one link to crack for the whole chain to fail. As shipping industry is just a link in a chain of innumerable candidates and shipping companies. If a link in the industry chain breaks, there will be nothing for the shipping industry to work on. Therefore, “strongly” educated candidates imply a “strong” shipping industry.

The Chain, our logo, is by Artist Eva Divari who has travelled on ships all her life. Each individual employee is like a link in a chain. If one link brakes, the entire chain is broken. Let’s ensure that each “link” is strong and the chain is tightly united resulting in strong and healthy companies able to compete in the international arena.

Why we started & how?

Co-founders, Irene Notias and Angeliki Livanou, believed in Demosthenes statement, “It is more difficult to preserve than to acquire” (“Χαλεπώτερον το φυλάττειν του κτήσασθαι”) and that the only way to sustain shipping companies is to properly prepare its next generation workforce. At the same time, most young job seekers’ expressed to them their sense of hopelessness at finding internships and jobs and believed that it was because they didn’t have a connection in shipping. So, Notias and Livanou, while supporting meritocracy, decided to become “The CONNECTION” for them.

They investigated why the low hiring rate and support of young personnel in the shipping industry and being business owners and managers themselves, they understood that although there was a need for fresh manpower, young job seekers lacked work-experience, know-how and admin skill sets enabling them to offer support to their employers.

They successfully persuaded their clients and friends to consider offering internships and entry level jobs basis the above statement. Thru an organized HR guided method, they created the 1st online CV Database and were joined by HR expert Efharis Perpinia soon after, becoming Shipping’s 1st HR Hub for young people.