Enrolments Open for Whangārei’s Global Maritime Training Qualification

A globally recognised maritime training qualification being offered in Northland for the first time is now open for enrolments.

The February intake will be the first of many in 2022. It will start on February 1 and run for seven days, in which time participants will be armed with personal survival skills at sea.

Training 4 Safety founder and director Mike Lindsay says the qualification could be a game changer for some people and he believes offering the training is particularly pertinent in light of some of the significant global maritime incidents and deaths of recent times.

The Whangārei company successfully piloted the five module STCW course with numerous participants in late 2021.

Training 4 Safety is the first Northland business delivering the training.

“Our team has done a really good job pulling this together after two years of preparation and we are really proud to be the first maritime training school in Northland providing STCW training courses. This course is ideal for people starting out in the marine industry but we also have training for those needing their five-yearly refreshers,” says Mr Lindsay.

Despite the maritime qualification being a new addition to the Training 4 Safety business model, the company has long been delivering a number of the STCW training components.

Mr Lindsay says STCW provides people with personal survival techniques which could help them survive at sea if there is need to abandon ship. STCW is part of an international convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watch-keeping for Seafarers (STCW) 1978 which comes under the International Maritime Organisation and is approved by Maritime NZ.

In essence, the course is considered a minimum entry requirement to work on super yachts or in the commercial sector of the maritime sector.

Northlanders qualifying in STCW can work anywhere in the world in virtually any area of the Maritime sector but the course – and refreshers – is also available to anyone around the world working in the maritime sector.

“We expect enquiries from people around Australia and the Pacific but it is early days so we will just wait for word to spread and do our best upskilling locals by working with our friends from Urban Sea.”

Urban Sea founders Karma Butler and Kate Frazerhurst, who are involved in the New Zealand Superyacht sector, say STCW training strengthens the existing marine services in Whangārei.

“Crew often need their safety certifications updated and what better place to do that than in Northland while they are here. There is already a lot of interest for this STCW training and we can only see that demand growing,” the pair say.

The five modules of the STCW Basic course cover:

Personal Survival Techniques

This course provides trainees with personal survival techniques, equipping them with the knowledge that will help them survive at sea in case of ship abandonment

Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting

This course provides trainees with the skills to assess fire risks and prevent on-board fires by extinguishing fires on a vessel

Elementary First Aid

This course provides trainees with the skills and techniques required to apply basic first aid and first aid in life threatening situations

Security Awareness Training

This course is intended to give personnel on board general security knowledge to enhance ship security

Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities

This course helps trainees learn how to limit pollution and other health and safety risks when working on board a vessel, while also building communication skills