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Cornish Fishermen have until 31 March 2012 to take advantage of 100% funding towards the Seafish Under 16.5m Skipper’s Certificate or £1000 towards an MCA Deck or Engineer Officer Certificate of Competency.
Thanks to funding from Seafish, the Department of Transport and the European Fisheries Fund, Seafish has been able to reinstate funding for experienced fishermen undertaking courses linked to its Under 16.5m Skipper's Certificate. The courses are delivered in Cornwall by Seafood Cornwall Training; the Newlyn based Seafish Approved Training Provider.
Courses that will be provided free-of-charge consist of Bridge Watchkeeping (2-day and 5-day*), Engineroom Watchkeeping (1-day, 2-day and 5-day), Intermediate Stability Awareness (1-day). Together with the GMDSS Short Range (Radio Operator) Certificate, these courses make up the proposed requirements for skippers of vessels less than 16.5m, which MCA intends to make mandatory.
Sarah Crosbie, Training Manager at Seafood Cornwall Training said: “As funding is only guaranteed until 31 March 2012, I would urge any fisherman wishing to access these funds to contact us without delay. We have scheduled course dates from January to March to accommodate as many fishermen as possible. Fishermen should note that the under 16.5m Skippers Certificate (endorsed up to 20 miles) may also be used on Small Commercial Vessels operating up to Area Category 6 (up to 3 miles from a nominated departure point and the Under 16.5m Skippers Certificate (endorsed beyond 20 miles*) may also be used on Small Commercial Vessels operating up to Area Category 3 (up to 20 miles from a safe haven). Aside from this programme of skipper’s ticket courses we also currently have funding for fishermen to refresh their mandatory basic safety certificates and for new entrants to complete a 3 week Introduction to Fishing Course. Never has there been a better time for fishermen’s to access funds for training.”
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