Written evidence submitted by ASTO (The Association of Sail Training Organisations)
The Sail Training industry and COVID-19
Executive Summary
ASTO is the umbrella body for 30 separate organisations that between them take 10,000 young people to sea each year. Sail Training charities have a record of highly effective work with young people, both in terms of individual well-being and also helping them develop as members of society. However, the industry cannot operate at all during the current crisis and faces a huge loss of trading income.
Currently available financial support either does not go far enough or is focussed on areas for which Sail Training is not eligible.
Sail trainers are asking for more financial support plus official public backing for the role they can play in helping young people recover from the social and psychological effects of COVID-19.
Who we are and what we do
Sail Training changes lives. Young people – many of them disadvantaged and vulnerable – take part in voyages designed to help them develop confidence, resilience, teamworking, communication and more.
Research has shown that Sail Training is one of the most powerful activities for making a lasting difference for young people.
Sailing as part of the crew on a large offshore sailing vessel takes young people out of their comfort zone. They need to live and work together in a completely new environment and get involved in all aspects of running the boat:
The benefits of Sail Training have been proven. ASTO, the umbrella body for UK Sail Training, has shown that the activities on board lead to positive changes for young people:
ASTO also surveyed those sending young people Sail Training: 84 % of teachers and youth workers thought the young people gained a sense of achievement, 71 % reported raised aspirations and 67% reported improved wellbeing and confidence. 70% of group leaders felt the experience was better than other similar residential visits.
Sail Training charities also take disabled people to sea, with similar outcomes. However most organisations are focussed on young people.
UK Sail Training organisations are charities. While groups and individuals will be charged a voyage fee, this rarely covers the true cost of running a voyage with a properly certified vessel and crew. Fundraising and grants cover the voyage fee for many young people and youth organisations, with the aim that cost should never be a barrier to taking part.
Size of the industry
ASTO has 22 member organisations which are charities. In addition there are 9 associate members. Some are part of a larger organisation (i.e. Marine Society and Sea Cadets) but most have Sail Training as their core function and are run by a small highly-dedicated team.
Between them they operate around 50 Sail Training vessels that take around 10,000 young people to sea each year, and around 2,000 disabled people over the age of 25.
The ASTO membership employ around 40 full time Skippers and many more volunteers, not to mention Mates and Bosuns. Most of these sea staff have come through Sail Training themselves, i.e. they are not from sailing backgrounds.
Total industry turnover is around £15 million annually (this excludes some members who do other activities, e.g. two public schools, Marine Society and Sea Cadets, Combined Cadet Force, UK Sailing Academy).
Impact on the industry of COVID-19
Income
The income of ASTO members comes from two main sources: fundraising, and trading income from selling places on voyages. The impact of COVID-19 on fundraising is yet to be seen though many members have serious concerns; but all members are facing an immediate and drastic loss of trading income while they are unable to run voyages.
A survey of members has shown a predicted drop in total income this year in the range 30% to 90%, partly depending on how long operations are suspended, but with a large number already certain to lose more than half their income in 2020.
Staffing
Sail Training is a highly-specialised industry and many staff roles depend on years of experience plus extensive qualifications. The total number of people in the UK able to skipper a large sailing vessel while offering high-quality youthwork with a crew of young novices is tiny. Both seagoing and shorebased staff have networks of relationships with clients, donors, sponsors, suppliers and others which are irreplaceable. The industry must keep its staff if it is to survive.
A survey of members has shown that while a number can furlough staff under the government’s Employee Retention Scheme, many are seriously concerned that their loss in income makes it difficult or impossible to pay staff who need to keep working if the business is to survive: the people who pay bills, liaise with clients, raise money and maintain the boats.
Vessels
Sail Training vessels are expensive and if not maintained will deteriorate. Vessels and equipment have to pass an annual coding inspection: if Sail Training charities cannot afford this work then they will cease to operate. A relatively successful ASTO member recently took more than 10 years to replace a vessel. The risk now is that unique and irreplaceable assets could be lost for ever.
Members also report struggling with fixed costs including vessel berthing fees which are typically a few thousand pounds per year. Without exceptionally generous support from a marina or boatyard, there is no way to avoid this cost: a boat must be berthed somewhere.
Future prospects
A number of ASTO members have reported extremely serious threats to their continuing existence. One said that after 30 years and working with more than 10,000 young people, it is “very difficult to see how we can survive the summer without either increased outside support or income.” Another said they have two months’ reserves – once gone the charity would be in an incredibly vulnerable position. A third said ““We may or may not survive this depending on goodwill.”
Another expressed great fears for the economy post-COVID-19 and was concerned this may have a dire impact on 2021 bookings: just when young people most need the support the industry can offer, families and organisations may be unable to afford it without help. And while some (not all) ASTO members may be able to weather one very bad season, a second challenging year in 2021 could be fatal for many Sail Training operators.
The need for Sail Training after COVID-19
Around 5,000 young people will lose an immensely valuable opportunity if half the 2020 sailing season is lost. But the need for Sail Training will be greater than ever after COVID-19.
The UK already faced serious issues with young people’s mental health and well-being. COVID-19 means that a generation of young people who were already stressed and anxious face an extended period of massive disruption to their lives, isolation and fear about everything from the health of themselves and family members, through the impact on their education, to the prospect of starting adult life in an economy which will take years to recover and where everything is uncertain and they have little or no prospect of security.
The Sail Training industry has the skills, experience and resources to help support thousands of young people when they need it most – provided that Sail Training operators can survive the current crisis.
Support needed
Staffing and Salaries
The Employee Retention Scheme will help but doesn’t go far enough, while it only applies to people who are not working at all. Sail Training operators cannot furlough all employees while keeping businesses going: we need to pay bills, keep fundraising, liaise with clients, ensure that boats do not deteriorate, and more. As with many businesses in other sectors, if we are to survive we need to keep some staff on despite having little or no money coming in, or we won’t all be here ready to start up again when things improve. A scheme which supported salaries for people continuing to work to keep businesses alive would be a huge help; or something to support salaries so that people could have big cuts to their hours while still doing enough work to keep things ticking over.
If restrictions are lifted on a sector-by-sector basis, we hope that the government will look at how the Employee Retention Scheme might continue to apply to businesses which still cannot operate even after other sectors have returned to normal. If Sail Training is not among the earlier industries to resume operations, having to pay full salaries again before our trading income returns could have a catastrophic impact.
Charity and business support grants
Any general financial help that could assist with core costs would be enormously valuable.
The Chancellor’s announcement of £750 million support for charities is explicitly aimed at ensuring “they can continue their vital work during the coronavirus crisis” and appears to exclude charities who have had to cease operations temporarily. The National Emergencies Trust and many other programmes that have been announced seem to have a similar focus.
Businesses which were forced to cease operations by the crisis were one of the earliest priorities for financial support. Charities currently operating in difficult circumstances were – rightly – another priority. But we are concerned that charities compelled to cease operations may be overlooked.
Promotion of and financial support for activities for young people post-COVID-19
It would be of enormous benefit if the government and local authorities could give public backing to the benefits of youthwork activities, including outdoor education for young people, in the aftermath of COVID-19. This backing would benefit the young people as well as encouraging referrers, and would help to overcome concerns that head teachers, parents and others may have that these activities are still risky or unaffordable when their finances are tight. Funding for young people to take part in this sort of positive activity may be key in helping people recover from the social and psychological effects of COVID-19, to the lasting benefit of families, employers and communities as well as individuals.