Five go live on ABP Humber's marine apprenticeship programme
A PIONEERING apprenticeship scheme has been launched to give young people exciting career opportunities within the marine industry.
Associated British Ports' (ABP) has begun its four-year marine apprenticeship programme, giving young people the chance to train for marine operations jobs at the Humber ports.
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Raring to go: From left, Captain Martin Gough, ABP dock master Humber; John Fitzgerald, ABP port director Grimsby and Immingham; and apprentices Keeta Rowlands, Darren Briggs, Ryan Davies, Danny Marshall and Tony Norfolk. Photo courtesy of ABP / David Lee Photography Ltd
The aim is to train apprentices to be part of the operational teams that control shipping in the UK's busiest estuary and port complex.
The unique scheme, which is designed to give hands-on training for marine operations apprentices, will provide fully trained staff to fill vacancies in ports such as Hull and Goole for the next ten years.
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Captain Martin Gough, ABP Dock Master Humber, said the staff in this industry traditionally come from merchant navy but the number of people coming with the qualifications has declined.
He said: "We thought we were going to have a shortage of qualified staff, so we took the decision to start this apprenticeship scheme.
"This is a unique training programme for the marine industry and the apprentices will gain a series of qualifications all of the way through and at the end will be able to work at senior level in the company."
The apprentices will learn about all aspects of marine operations within the Humber ports, including mooring ships and pilotage, and it will allow apprentices to divide their time between the north bank and the south bank.
The first year will primarily based in Immingham, with the second in Hull.
Apprentice Ryan Davies, 18, of Hull, is one of the new starters.
He said: "I applied for this role with ABP to kick-start what I hope will be a long and interesting career and enable me to progress and gain good qualifications."
The apprentices will complete various qualifications during their apprenticeship including an NVQ level three in marine operations, Royal Yachting Association certificates and will embark on a course to do a Higher National Certificate in shipping and maritime operations.
The new scheme was launched earlier this year and saw a huge amount of interest.
Mr Gough said: "We received a large number of very good applications, which made selecting 36 for interview – and then reducing that number to the ten we took through to an assessment day – an extremely difficult task.
"It was virtually impossible to separate the top five so, although the original intention was to only take four apprentices, we actually decided to take five.
"We were looking for people who can work their way up in the industry and I was pleasantly surprised – we got some very strong applications.
"All five have settled in well, with all showing the aptitude we want from them, so we are extremely excited about this innovative scheme and we wish them luck as they embark on an exciting career."
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