Wednesday, 04 November 2009

MERCHANT NAVY DECK OFFICER CADETS QUALIFY AT NAFC MARINE CENTRE 

The NAFC Marine Centre’s Shetland School of Nautical Studies congratulated its third group of Merchant Navy deck officer cadets last week (Friday 30 October) on successfully achieving their Officer of the Watch (Unlimited) Certificates of Competency.

The six cadets were orally examined on completion of their academic programme by a surveyor from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and were successful in obtaining their Officer of the Watch qualifications. 

Head of School at the Shetland School of Nautical Studies, Jan Rigden, said: “We are delighted with the results and very pleased that our programmes have helped these young people to develop their careers.  The Deck and Engineering Cadet programmes have been very successful since their inception in 2003 in retaining maritime expertise in Shetland, providing a pool of trained seafarers for the future, and ensuring that the facilities required for training and educating fishermen and Merchant Navy officers remain available in Shetland. I hope that these young officers will continue their studies to senior levels in the future and wish them every success in their chosen career.”

Caroline Hepburn, Liaison Officer, added: “Our cadet programme has continued to expand year after year as the quality of our training has become apparent to potential sponsors and shipping companies throughout the UK.  We are recognised and appreciated for our small classes, caring attitude and our ability to delivery quality training.”

The cadets began their training in September 2006 and, having now obtained their qualifications, will be proceeding to sea as fully qualified officers in the Merchant Navy.

When asked about the value of the programme, cadet Laurence Goudie from Lerwick, said: “This course has enabled me to achieve the qualification I needed to get the career I want.  I’d definitely recommend the cadet training programme to anyone interested in a career at sea and I’d like to thank the staff and my colleagues for their support over the last three years.”

Cadet Kevin Ryrie from Kirkwall, Orkney, added: “This is an excellent course and I particularly liked the idea of spending alternating periods in the classroom and at sea.  I chose to study at the NAFC Marine Centre because it was a new training centre, with excellent facilities, and close to home.”

Four of the six successful candidates in this group were from Shetland; and whilst recent intakes include a percentage of candidates from throughout the Highlands and Islands, Shetlanders make up more than 50 per cent of each group.

At present more than 60 cadets are enrolled in the Deck and Engineering programmes with a full intake of 24 new cadets starting their training this year.  Cadets are sponsored by a variety of training and shipping companies, including four who are sponsored annually by Shetland Islands Council Transport Services – Ferries.

Also last week, four candidates, Ian Pearson, Douglas Leask, Stuart Manson and David J. Anderson, successfully completed Masters (limited) Orals for service on the inter island ferries.

Further information from:

For further information, please contact: Jan Rigden, head of Shetland School of Nautical Studies, tel 01595 772000, email jan.rigden@nafc.uhi.ac.uk or visit www.nafc.ac.uk
Or, Louise Rosie, Shaw Marketing and Design Ltd, tel 01595 692465, email louise.rosie@shaw-online.com or visit www.shaw-online.com

Notes to editors:

The Cadet programme runs over three years at Shetland School of Nautical Studies, with an annual intake of 24 cadets every September.  The cadet programmes consist of a mixture of academic studies in Scalloway and practical experience at sea, with candidates following a structured path at sea and developing a portfolio of evidence to show their competence in the workplace.

Cadets are sponsored throughout their programme, and receive a training allowance. On completion of the academic studies and portfolio of evidence, candidates are examined orally by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to prove that they have reached the required standards of competence before they are issued with their seagoing qualifications to take charge of the watch.