
2 February 2018
RMT Press Office:
Maritime union RMT on announcement today of increased funding for seafarer training
National Secretary Steve Todd said;
"Doubling public funding for seafarer training will always be welcomed by the maritime trade unions. RMT will be seeking further details from the Government on how this will affect the very small amount that is dedicated to training Ratings, through the SMarT 3 and SMarT 5 routes.
"The apprenticeship route seems to be the Government’s preferred option for training new UK Ratings in order to avoid an economically damaging maritime skills deficit. RMT remains concerned that the apprenticeship route is not delivering the training schemes required to replace the current generation of UK Ratings, over half of whom will retire by 2023.
"The Government’s Maritime Growth Study review only mentions Ratings once. We need a significant increase in UK Ratings in training and employment, or we will lose control of our capacity to operate a diverse range of shipping, just as we leave the European Union and negotiate a slew of new trade deals."
Ends
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Tagged with: seafarers, seafarer rating, training, maritime growth study, sos2020
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