SCV talent drive

The Norman Finlay Memorial Development Scheme is designed to “increase the amount of Small Commercial Vessel Seafarers and those with a passion for SCV’s moving onto advanced careers ashore within the SCV sector”.

This includes within vessel owner/operator organisations and within the supply chain such as manufacturers, regulators, surveyors, inspectors, charterers and professional services.

Joint effort

Stakeholders will work together to provide a variety of resources towards the development of SCV seafarers.

These stakeholders include the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS), Marine Society, MECAL, Mercator Media, the Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Ship Surveyors Benevolent Fund (SCMS) and The Workboat Association.

The stakeholders have committed to supporting the Marine Society’s ‘Coming Ashore Project’ to help seafarers get the support and skills they need to transition to a shoreside career in the maritime sector, tailored to the requirements of the Small Commercial Vessel industry.

Norman Finlay MBE was known to many as the ‘Grandfather’ of the workboat industry. He was a key stakeholder in the development of The Workboat Association in 1994, of which he took the role as secretary until 2011, then life president. Following his passing in August 2020, the industry came together to collectively find a way to honour his memory.

By Rebecca Jeffrey