Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Maritime Apprenticeships Trailblazer Working Group (TWG); when he expects Maritime TWG apprenticeships to be available to employees and employers in the shipping industry; and what estimate he has made of the number of new seafarer ratings that will be trained through apprenticeships developed through the Maritime TWG.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Maritime skills and apprenticeships, including the maritime trailblazer, were discussed at the first meeting of the new Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth on 30th November 2015. The group comprises Ministers and senior officials from across Whitehall including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and industry representative including from the Maritime Apprenticeships Trailblazer Working Group.
The Maritime Apprenticeships Trailblazer Working Group is an employer led group. The able seafarer (deck) standard is now approved and ready for delivery and others are in development. Once a standard is ready for delivery it is open to any employer or training provider for delivery.
It is too early to make an assessment on the number of new seafarer ratings that will be trained through apprenticeships, but the Department is currently reviewing seafarer projections across the industry.
