Firstly let me pass on my season’s greetings to all IIMS members who celebrate Christmas. May you have a peaceful and joyous holiday time.
The past twelve months have been memorable and I believe when we look back in time and reflect on 2016, our silver jubilee anniversary year, we will look back fondly and with pride. At a recent meeting with the head office team, I took the opportunity to share our achievements as an organisation and I think we were all genuinely surprised at what has happened over the past 52 weeks! It is always, in my opinion, important to recognise how far one has come before setting out one’s stall for the period ahead. Some of the things that go on behind the scenes at IIMS are not important to the wider world, but make a world of difference to the team – the installation of fast broadband, new PCs and a brand new server, for example, have transformed the way we work and our productivity this past year. And our progress as we embrace new technology and turn it to our members’ advantage is very pleasing.
But there is never time to rest of course and any organisation and business has to keep driving forward. IIMS is no different – you have my word! There has been some detailed planning and development work going on at the Institute over the past couple of months, which I am personally excited by. The results will be unveiled and rolled out early in the new year. But to give a taster, we plan a major overhaul of the IIMS Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme, including the launch of an App to enable members to handle their CPD in a state-of-the-art manner. New online only 90 minute seminars covering a wide range of topics will be launched in 2017. And we plan to rip out the existing, inefficient, IIMS database and implement something much more fit for purpose. I full expect this to streamline the way we operate the Institute that will also have a positive impact on all members.
And my final thought is that 2016 has been a challenging year for some IIMS members, yet a hugely busy one for others. My wish for the new year is that we see an improving picture in the offshore sector, which has been so badly hit, and also the poorly performing shipping sector too.
Mike Schwarz
Chief Executive Officer
