Visitors flock to shipping careers day
There is an important emphasis on recruitments days at the moment due to the skill shortage at sea.
South Tyneside College in the UK held its annual Shipping Careers Open Day recently at the Marine Safety Training Centre in South Shields.
There is an important emphasis on recruitments days at the moment due to the skill shortage at sea.
The event attracted over 800 visitors, all eager to speak to some of the marine industry’s top names to find out about the career opportunities in the shipping industry. Participating companies included Carnival Cruises, Chiltern Maritime, Clyde Marine Training, Maersk, Meridian Marine, PNTL, Pritchard Gordon Tankers, Princess Cruises, Ship Safe Training Group and Viking Recruitment.
Head of the Marine College at South Tyneside, Gary Hindmarch said, ‘The attendance at the event was extremely encouraging for the industry. With potential earnings of up to £40k tax free and a chance to see the world, a marine career offers fantastic opportunities.
‘At the moment, skills shortages at sea mean that successful graduates from the programmes have excellent career opportunities and potential students had the opportunity to talk to those already working in the industry.’
The Marine College is also looking forward to welcoming marine students from Bangladesh in 2012 as part of a joint training academy, providing a vital economic boost for the area. The training institute is a Bangladesh – United Kingdom joint venture initiative between South Tyneside College, Shah Marine, and the Business Institute in Dhaka, which will provide Higher National Diplomas to young Bangladeshi students. The college has a good global reputation and consequently attracts learners from around the world.
Gary Hindmarch understands the importance of maintaining a favourable worldwide reputation and the impact it can have economically. He commented, ‘We have approximately 40 students arriving in South Tyneside from Bangladesh in 2012. As the partnership develops, we hope we can attract more people to the marine industry as there is a huge potential in this sector for national economic growth.
‘Through this partnership we aim to raise the UK’s reputation as a first class seafarer country and the preferred choice of training destination for all global marine companies.’
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