The apprenticeship has been developed to combat a growing challenge highlighted by the offshore wind maritime services sector: that of recruiting skilled or talented crew members, particularly as older and more experienced seafarers retire. Learn more about the program here.
The National Workboat Association (NWA), the safety standards, skills, and trade association for the workboat industry, says that it has finalized a new Workboat Crewmember Apprenticeship standard. The apprenticeship is in response to a growing skills and crewing challenge highlighted by NWA members and the wider maritime sector.
It will ensure that young seafarers benefit from the opportunities being created in the workboat sector – training as the next generation of offshore wind crew transfer, tug, multicat, survey and fast pilot vessel crew.
The UK Workboat Crewmember Standard and end-point assessment have already been published, and this month, the final piece of the jigsaw fell into place when the Minister for Education confirmed an Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) recommended funding band of £20,000 per apprentice (aged 24 and younger). This is the most significant funding that has ever been available for training workboat crew members.
“Following a lot of work by the Trailblazer Working Group, the NWA Training group and our contacts at the IfA, we’re very pleased that the Apprenticeship is now finalized and – crucially – has secured a good level of funding support,” said Mark Ranson, Secretary, NWA.
The 18 to 24-month apprenticeship, which includes all SCTW Basic Safety Courses and the Navigational Watch Rating, among other qualifications, will equip would-be seafarers with all of the skills necessary to work as a competent deckhand. Combining shore-based instruction with extensive time on board, it will ensure that successful apprentices are well-placed to meet the requirements of a number of highly specialized maritime sectors.
“This apprenticeship offers a standardized, high-quality program, endorsed by the NWA, to drive training initiatives for the next generation of workboat crews,” added Ranson. “It will contribute to a steady influx of trained personnel to support workboat operations in a range of marine industries throughout the UK and Europe, such as construction of offshore wind farms, servicing of ports and inland waterways, surveying, towage and salvage work.”
Filed Under: News, Offshore wind, Policy, Safety, Training
