Skippers Training Project for Southern Fishermen

A new training project has recently started in the South, with 30 fishermen of all ages studying for their “Inshore Skipper” ticket.  The project has been organised by the Southern Fish Industry Training Association (SFITA) with support from Seafish and the FIFG fund administered by the Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA). SFITA Training Manager, Alan Sandham said: “Although skippers training for under 12m boats is not mandatory at the moment, many fishermen in the South had expressed an interest in obtaining a formal qualification following our earlier PESCA funded project. We therefore put a bid in to the MFA for FIFG funding last year, and after a lengthy wait, the MFA agreed to fund fifty percent of the costs. The remainder is mainly being funded by the fishermen themselves, as we were not able to obtain any funding assistance from either of the Regional Development Agencies in the South. In fact, the South West RDA agents for Dorset – “Rural Renaissance Dorset” had initially verbally agreed to fund 20 percent of the costs for the Dorset fishermen and then withdrew their support at the last moment”.

“As the inshore fleet in Southern England consists of mainly under 10m vessels, there are very few opportunities for career development. Many fishermen remain as deckhands for most of their working life, with only their fishing experience to rely on. The introduction of formal qualifications will enable deckhands to progress to Mate and Skipper etc. in line with workers in the onshore industries. Projects like this have been proven to enhance the workforce in not only knowledge of safety equipment and procedures, but also in management, maintenance and information technology skills, and therefore enable a business to succeed in an ever changing business and economic environment.  The “Inshore Skipper Certificate” also allows fishermen to obtain the MCA Commercial Endorsement for charter operations; enabling them to participate in operations such as fishing and diving trips”.

The course is conducted using visiting tutors and assessors, guiding the candidates through each of 9 vocational units leading to the issue of the Marine Vessel Operations NVQ. Courses in Navigation, Bridge Watchkeeping and Diesel Engineering are also provided where necessary to give a more in-depth knowledge of each subject. Anyone wishing to know more about the project can ring SFITA on 01329 311371.