Success for scheme introducing fishing to young and unemployed
14th April 2022
A council-supported training scheme in Hull for the young and unemployed, aimed at providing an insight into a career at sea, is achieving a high success rate, reports Paul Scott.
The Maritime Futures accredited course, aimed at 16- to 25-year-olds and the unemployed, has recorded a 75% qualification success rate so far.
The three-week course aims to provide a taster of a career at sea, with trainees learning about all aspects of the current fishing industry, as well as skills including safety training in firefighting, first aid and sea survival.
Gillian Osgerby, Hull City Council’s project director for Hull Maritime, said: “We are delighted with the success of the training course so far. It shows that there is an appetite for young people who would like to enter a career in the maritime industry.”
Hull Maritime Yorkshire says that of the 10 trainees who completed last month’s course, seven have already received offers of employment in the fishing industry.
Asadi Suroush, one of those trainees, said: “Overall, the course has provided me with the relevant knowledge and experience for me to feel confident enough to work in the maritime industry. Completing this course has helped me find work on a prawn vessel in the fishing industry.”
Previous graduates have gone on to secure employment on fishing vessels working out of various ports in East Yorkshire and beyond.
Hull Maritime Yorkshire says that over the next two years, the Maritime Futures programme will ‘offer 100 young people aged 16 to 25, and the unemployed, the chance to complete the recognised training, with the aim of 75% of those going on to secure employment within 12 months of completion’.
The course is delivered by East Coast Maritime Training on behalf of Hull Maritime, the Hull City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The next course is due to take place in July.
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.
