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Poole Marine Skills Centre celebrates birthday milestone
Poole’s Marine Skills Centre is celebrating its third birthday having seen almost 10,000 people from the area’s thriving marine industry use its facilities. The centre, which is funded by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) and opened in 2004, has just started the college year with more students than ever before. Based at Fleets Corner on the Nuffield Industrial Estate in Poole, it is one of three marine skills centres set up by the RDA to increase the competitiveness of marine sector companies across the region. The other two centres are at Plymouth and Falmouth.
The Poole centre specialises in marine engineering and provides a wide range of apprenticeship programmes and short courses that are tailor-made to meet the needs of local marine businesses. Sunseeker International, Europe’s largest exporter of motor yachts, uses the centre for all its training and 40 other local businesses have sent staff to the centre to learn new skills over the last three years.
Rob Peters, the South West RDA’s enterprise manager in Poole, said: “Across the South West the marine sector is worth about £1 billion to the economy and employs 32,000 people in 2,700 businesses, so it’s a priority sector for RDA support.“Our role is to target our investment to unlock the region’s business potential and Poole’s Marine Skills Centre is an excellent example of that.”
Adam Corney, executive director of Marine South West, the RDA-funded marine sector development company which runs the centre, said: “Poole was the first of the three marine skills centres to open and it has exceeded all expectations.In our first year we had 72 apprentices enrolled, but this year we have 129. As well as providing recognised marine qualifications in marine engineering, marine electrical, boat building and upholstery, we have a range of short courses approved by the Royal Yachting Association and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. A large part of our success is from listening to the marine industry and tailoring our courses to provide exactly what they want, so our training programmes are constantly evolving and we’re grateful for the RDA’s continued support.”
Paul Santer, human resources manager at Poole-based Sunseeker which employs 2,000 people, said: “We’ve just taken on 34 new apprentices and all of them are being trained at the Marine Skills Centre. It’s a fantastic resource to have on our doorstep because we’re looking at major expansion at our new production facility at Osprey Quay at Portland where we expect to increase staff numbers from 50 to 500 in the next four years.”
Another local business using the centre is Poole Marine Services, one of Poole’s leading marine engineering leisure companies. Justin White, manager of Poole Marine Services, said: “All of our engineers are having or have had apprenticeships with the Marine Skills Centre which has grown from strength to strength and is absolutely essential in this thriving marine area. The comprehensive training programmes, combining theoretical and hands on experience, has allowed us to get the very best out of the staff that have used the centre.”
The centre is home to three training companies. Paragon Training provides most of the apprentice training on site, together with a range of MCA and RYA certified courses. Poole Harbour Sea Survival runs several RYA sea safety and shorebased courses, while Independent Maritime Security Associates run ship security courses. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) – the 24-hour marine search and rescue charity – also works with the Marine Skills Centre to train staff based at its headquarters in Poole. Liam McKenna, principal relief fleet manager at the RNLI said: “The RNLI recognises the importance of training as we run our own intensive training for our volunteer lifeboat crew here at The Lifeboat College in Poole. We have worked with the Marine Skills Centre since it opened in 2004 to supply essential training for RNLI staff based in Poole. “Over the past three years the centre has not only supported us in National Vocational Qualification training for our marine engineering team, it has also helped develop young talent on the Advanced Marine Apprenticeship Programme to help meet the charity’s future recruitment needs. We enjoy an excellent working relationship with Paragon Skills for Industry and we wish them every success for the future.”
Such is Poole’s reputation that national organisations including Honda Marine and the Metropolitan Police use it for all their apprenticeship training. And the centre is one of only two places outside the US that is accredited to deliver American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) Electrical Certification courses. Marine businesses wanting to export boats to the US need an ABYC certificate so the centre can help tap this huge export market. The centre boasts extensive and fully-equipped workshops, classrooms, meeting and conference facilities, and has recently invested in a new outdoor marine engine testing facility and water tank. For more information about the courses and facilities available call 01202-606520
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