Marine event a success

After being hailed as “excellent” by HRH the Duke of York during a Royal visit last October, South Tyneside College’s Marine School is now playing its part in tackling the UK’s shortage of trained seafarers.

A recent report written by Deloitte and Oxford Economics concluded that the United Kingdom currently has a thirty percent shortage of trained seafarers leading to concerns that this could have a long term effect on the economy. To help address this, the College held its annual Shipping Careers Open Day.

The event attracted over three hundred and fifty visitors, all eager to speak to some of the marine industry’s top names about the career opportunities currently available in the shipping industry. These included Meridian, Maersk, RFA, Princess Cruises, James Fisher, Ship Safe Training Group, Carnival, Viking Recruitment, Chiltern Maritime, Clyde Marine Training, Northern Marine Management and Pritchard Gordon Tankers.

Gary Hindmarch, Director of Business Development at South Tyneside College, 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.”