UK: A group of fishermen from Newlyn and St Ives have got together to address some of the skills shortages within the Cornish fishing industry.
With assistance from Business Link’s South West Rural Enterprise Gateway (SW REG), the Sea Skills group are putting local fisherman and crew through specific training courses which will help secure the long term future of the fishing industry in Devon and Cornwall.
Collectively, the group have been able to access funding from SW REG which has enabled them to attend a range of courses including VHF and long wave radio transmission, emergency fire-fighting and emergency first aid, delivered by the Cornwall Fisheries Resource Centre (CFRC).
Newlyn fisherman, Jake Freethy said, “Marine VHF radio is the best way of summoning help; you can contact the coastguard up to 50 miles off-shore and talk to other boats and yachts up to 20 miles on the open sea. Thanks to the one-day course held at the CFRC, I now know the correct procedure for distress, urgency, safety by means of marine VHF DSC radio. This course will also be useful if I ever consider gaining employment in the merchant or marine leisure sectors.”
Evonne Amblin, Business Link project officer for SW REG Fisheries said, “We often hear about people in the farming industry diversifying, but it is just as important that fishermen have equal opportunities to develop their skill base.
“Up-skilling creates possibilities for career progression within the industry – which also makes it a more attractive sector for people to enter. With initiatives like this we are hoping to directly address some of the problems highlighted in the Objective One Fishing Industry Task Force Strategy for 2010, which draws attention to declining numbers of new workers and a lack of training as weaknesses”.
