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Displaying items by tag: UK Shipyard

In the UK along Merseyside is shiprepairer, shipbuilder, and engineering services company Cammell Laird which has recruited 20 new apprentices to its workforce.

The famous shipyard on Birkenhead, says it has completed the most rigorous recruitment process ever undertaken with the 20 recruits starting their four-year apprenticeship this autumn at a cost of £250,000-a-year and £1million in total.

Cammell Laird chief operating officer Tony Graham said the new starters will take the total number of apprentices recruited into the business to 270 since 2008 with an ambition to take on 20 more every year. To date the company has invested more than £18million in its apprentice programme making it one of the biggest in the UK maritime industry and Northern Powerhouse region. The latest in-take will take the investment to £19million.

“We warmly welcome our new apprentices to their roles,” he said. “The sky is the limit for apprentices here at Cammell Laird with many of our senior management including myself and our CEO John Syvret starting their careers as an apprentice. The message we want to give young people, their parents, schools and colleges is that an apprenticeship offers as much opportunity as a university degree. At Cammell Laird you can start your career learning on the job, giving you the skills and training required for a high achieving career. You can become productive quickly and you will be financially better off than many young people going to university as you are effectively being paid to learn rather than having to get into debt. Then the apprenticeship is designed to secure a well-paid skilled job on completion with the company. We should also emphasize that by joining Cammell Laird you can help make a genuine difference to our community. Cammell Laird’s success helps underpin job and wealth creation on Merseyside and we’ve been able to generate £350million for the local and UK economy since 2013 employing 1500 direct and indirect workers and 300 small business suppliers at peak times.”

Mr Graham said this year’s in-take is drawn from the Merseyside region and is aged between 16 and 27.

“We want to issue a positive message built around Cammell Laird’s future order book with customers like the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the Royal Navy and BAE Systems – we have lots of work over the next ten years (see work pipeline below),” he said. “But there is a skills gap on Merseyside and in the maritime industry. We cannot find all the people and skills we need so we are having to invest into training the next generation hence why we really want schools to get behind the job opportunities here. We have shown by building the RRS Sir David Attenborough that Cammell Laird is back in the ‘premier league’ of shipbuilding, building iconic world-famous ships. And the new group of apprentices were able to board the new polar ship for the recent Royal ship naming with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge which sent a very strong message to them about the opportunities they have at Cammell Laird. We urge more young people to follow our apprentices and think of a career in engineering and maritime and join us on our upward trajectory.”

Mr Graham said the new apprentices will be divided into mechanical fitters, pipefitters, platers and welders.

“We have been working with our partner the Engineering College, which neighbours the shipyard, on recruiting the apprentices who will now undertake their training at the college,” he said. “This was a thorough five-stage recruitment process that saw 100 people apply initially which was eventually reduced to the final 20 recruits. We looked at their educational achievements, community activities and then undertook a team-building day before staging interviews with the HR and production departments. We know a large number of those who just missed out, on being selected, will be able to come back next year stronger and stand a great chance of securing an apprenticeship with greater understanding of what we are looking for.”

Published in Ports & Shipping

#Ports&Shipping- The UK shipyard (that built LÉ George Bernard Shaw) is to shut despite its owner being offered a £60m contract by the MoD.

Staff at Appledore Shipyard in Devon reports BBC News have been told by owner Babcock that it will close by the end of March 2019.

The company recently lost a contract with the Armed Forces of Malta, causing financial difficulties.

Babcock said all 199 workers will be offered a move to Devonport Dockyard, also owned by the firm, 45 miles (72km) away.

'We want answers'

The GMB union said it wanted answers from the government and from Babcock about the £60m package which would have offered extra work at Devonport.

Babcock had said the extra work would not be enough to secure Appledore's future, see related report. 

Some Appledore staff had been temporarily redeployed to Devonport since the news of the lost contract came through.

For more on "Save Appledore Shipyard" petition and a brief history of the facility dating to 1855, click here.

 

Published in Ports & Shipping

Ferry & Car Ferry News The ferry industry on the Irish Sea, is just like any other sector of the shipping industry, in that it is made up of a myriad of ship operators, owners, managers, charterers all contributing to providing a network of routes carried out by a variety of ships designed for different albeit similar purposes.

All this ferry activity involves conventional ferry tonnage, 'ro-pax', where the vessel's primary design is to carry more freight capacity rather than passengers. This is in some cases though, is in complete variance to the fast ferry craft where they carry many more passengers and charging a premium.

In reporting the ferry scene, we examine the constantly changing trends of this sector, as rival ferry operators are competing in an intensive environment, battling out for market share following the fallout of the economic crisis. All this has consequences some immediately felt, while at times, the effects can be drawn out over time, leading to the expense of others, through reduced competition or takeover or even face complete removal from the marketplace, as witnessed in recent years.

Arising from these challenging times, there are of course winners and losers, as exemplified in the trend to run high-speed ferry craft only during the peak-season summer months and on shorter distance routes. In addition, where fastcraft had once dominated the ferry scene, during the heady days from the mid-90's onwards, they have been replaced by recent newcomers in the form of the 'fast ferry' and with increased levels of luxury, yet seeming to form as a cost-effective alternative.

Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!