Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board’s inaugural group of Workboat-Master Trainees had plenty of reason for celebration recently at their College of Further Education and Training conferring ceremony. Shauna Murphy was one of the conferring group who had an opportunity to reflect on all she achieved over a busy year of attaining the skills needed to become a competent and employable mariner.
Shauna’s interest in the course at College of FET, Kilrush Campus began when she moved to West Clare from Dublin. During the summer months she helped out cleaning with local business Scattery Island Tours, which offers boat trips from Kilrush. “I loved working on the boat and I knew immediately that I wanted to work in the maritime industry and now that I’ve graduated I’m looking forward to pursuing a job on a commercially-licenced vessel” she said.
The Workboat Master Traineeship, developed by Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board with the support of industry partners, is the first of its kind in Ireland. It is designed around the skills and certification needed to work onboard a broad range of vessels operating around the Irish coast.
Shauna’s mentor Diarmuid Whelan who designed the course, knows only too well the value of gaining experience. “Learners being able to put their new skills into daily practical application as well as observing and learning from more experienced crew members has been invaluable. Having to work daily on the water where weather conditions and tide are constantly changing is a huge learning experience for the trainees. It is also hugely satisfying that many of them have been taken on full time by their work experience employers, with others having part-time work on the over-winter vessel maintenance schedule.”
Workboat Master Graduates Shauna Murphy (centre) with (L-R) Stephen Courage, Ivan Prokopyev, Vitalii Shcherbachenko and Andrii Fomin at the Radisson Blu Hotel for their conferring ceremony.
Shauna was the only female out of eight on the course’s inaugural group and according to her there was a great sense of camaraderie amongst the first cohort of Workboat Masters trainees. Some of these other trainees being conferred recently included Stephen Courage a fellow Dub who has also made County Clare his home settling in Doonbeg. Also celebrating with Shauna on the day were three Ukrainian nationals Andrii Fomin, Vitalii Shcherbachenko and Ivan Prokopyev who settled in Clare as part of the Irish Ukrainian response and have all since secured full-time employment in the marine industry.
During the traineeship they worked together learning about everything from rope splicing to Navigation, IT to Marine Engine maintenance and of course boat-handling.
Speaking about the group Diarmuid explained “They had plenty of opportunity to familiarise themselves with the river Shannon and its particular tidal working conditions having navigated from Loop head to Killaloe throughout the course on a range of different sizes and types of vessels”.
They showed great hard work and dedication over the past 12 months and we would like to thank particularly our industry partners and the skippers and crew who took them on for work placement.
With recent developments in offshore renewable energy technology, Diarmuid was quick to point out that the Shannon Estuary and its bordering counties are set for major marine infrastructure and business developments in the coming years. “Our Trainees are in the ‘right place at the right time’ to take full advantage of this to expand their skill range, careers and opportunities” he said.
To find out more information on the Workboat Master traineeship or any other traineeships available at Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of Further Education and Training click here https://collegeoffet.ie/traineeships/
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