Maritime Growth Study

The MSA has welcomed the Maritime Growth Study with a Press Release pointing to the fact that nine of the 18 recommendations relate to skills and education. They were always in the brief, but Lord Mountevans has given skills much more prominence in the final report, and we are delighted to see it. We have also said that we are keen to use our expertise, reach and contacts to support next steps.

Apprenticeship certificates and Skills for Logistics

Skills for Logistics - which manages the process of checking eligibility before issuing certificates for maritime apprentices - has closed for business, and that work is now done by IMI, another Sector Skills Council. The contact address for the moment is [email protected]

Practically, arrangements should work every bit as smoothly as before, but if you have any questions or concerns please contact the Secretary to the MSA, Iain Mackinnon, on [email protected] or 0208 99 88 77 2.

MSA publishes its evidence to the Maritime Growth Strategy

In its evidence to the Maritime Growth Strategy team the MSA has called on them to cast their net wider in defining the maritime sector. Drawing-on our own uniquely-wide coverage we think the scale of the maritime sector may be as much as a third bigger than the team has defined it, by limiting its definition to shipping, ports and maritime services.

We also draw attention to the scale and significance of maritime training and education, and the value of protecting and developing the training sector.

The MSA's response (4pp) is here.

New apprenticeship for marinas and boatyards

The marina and boatyard sector now has a nationally-recognised apprenticeship for the first time. The British Marine Federation, a longstanding member of the MSA, has been working with sector employers to design a new Diploma for the marina and boatyard sector, with an associated apprenticeship, and both have just won formal approval.

BMF has worked with its members to develop a qualification which is suitable for those working in inland and coastal marinas as well as those working in standalone boatyards.

Employees in this sector are responsible for the operation of complex machinery, ensuring that the logistics of the wider business work smoothly and for taking care of high value customer property. This includes the lifting of boats in and out of the water and transport to different parts of a yard, moving boats on the water, storing boats and ensuring that they are secured effectively. These staff provide an essential logistics function within a marina business.

BMF offers a comprehensive marina-specific management programme, running from supervisory to certified status, and also offers entry-level licences, but there has been a gap for specific qualifications for operators within the industry. This new qualification, and the associated apprenticeship, close that gap.

You can get more detail on the new Diploma, which is at Level 2, here (SQA's more user-friendly pages will follow very soon), and on the apprenticeship here. You can also get more information from the training team at BMF: [email protected]

MYBA joins the MSA as our 16th member

MYBA, the Worldwide Yachting Association, has become our 16th member - and our first with headquarters outside the UK. Nice-based MYBA has 30 years experience of supporting its members in all aspects of the large yacht / superyacht sector, with an increasing interest in training.

The Border Force becomes our 15th member

The Border Force is the part of the Home Office which secures the UK's border by carrying out immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the country. To do its job it runs five fast cutters, with the latest - HMC Protector - launched by the Home Secretary in April 2014, and it is because of the range of maritime skills involved that the Border Force sought to join the MSA.