Applications for maritime and fishing courses have soared at a specialist branch of a north-east college.
Enrolments at the Scottish Maritime Academy in Peterhead have risen 19% year on year – which bosses say is a reflection of new and improved courses.
Since the former Banff and Buchan College opened the centre in November 2012, more training accreditations and additional investment have been gained to offer opportunities for fishermen from the UK and abroad. The academy now offers the mandatory basic safety courses on a rolling programme for those new to the fishing industry, including sea survival, firefighting and first aid as well as the mandatory training for experienced fishermen who have at least two years’ experience.
Centre manager Linda Hope said: “We have had a very promising start over the last 16 months. We can now offer the fishing community an ever-expanding portfolio of competitively-priced courses, delivered via small class sizes. This increases the time a tutor can spend with each student. In fact many of our new clients tell us that they chose us because of a recommendation they received from a colleague.”
The facility at Peterhead’s Lido once housed the Maritime Heritage Centre which foundered due to poor visitor numbers. It was refurbished by the now North-East Scotland College to become a “centre of excellence” for maritime training.
Simon Potten, head of safety, training and services at the UK Government’s Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish), welcomed the centre’s success.
He said: “Investing in fishermen’s voluntary training and skills development underpins our efforts to improve fishing safety.
“The facilities and range of courses on offer at the academy are second to none. We are working closely with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation to make further training opportunities available.”