Merchant Navy Training Board


Funding issues have threatened the gains made to officer training numbers over the past decade, as well as affecting the availability of new rating apprenticeship programmes. Meanwhile, the launch of the On Board Training DVD complements exciting new developments in Merchant Navy Training Board services to UK seafarer education, training and careers promotion.


arrangements post-September 2012, when the first of any changes will take effect. This has made it very difficult for companies to plan their recruitment numbers and sponsorship budgets. The MNTB was, therefore, delighted by the government announcement in January that funding for SMarT would be guaranteed for the life of this parliament. The MNTB has worked very hard, with the


Chamber and the Maritime Skills Alliance (MSA), and at the highest levels within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), to ensure all relevant funding streams can be utilised, including those for apprenticeship training.


Officer training funding The Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) has been working tirelessly over the past year on the issue of funding for new entrant training. Not only are course costs increasing, as a result of changes to the further and higher education funding streams, but the uncertainty surrounding the government review of Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) funding caused great concern. Particularly frustrating has been the lack of clarity around future


32 MERCHANT NAVY TRAINING BOARD


Rating training The MNTB was pleased to launch its new rating training programmes in June at the Palace of Westminster. Trainees will achieve watch rating and able seafarer certification in deck or engineering disciplines, along with new Maritime Studies Qualifications. However, problems in defining the programmes as apprenticeships led to a considerable delay in their availability, due to a lack of agreement for the funding streams from the National Apprenticeship Service. This has finally been resolved and these apprenticeships are, at last, good to go.


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