Cadets in the UK will be offered fully funded training on simulators and vessels to become masters
An apprenticeship scheme has been launched in the UK, enabling cadets to use simulator time after government funding was approved.
The British government will provide funding to apprentices for training to become senior officers on vessels of less than 500 gt working in near-coastal waters and harbours, including tugboats and workboats.
This Master 500GT Trailblazer scheme builds on the success of the officer-of-the-watch apprenticeship scheme which has been running within the sector in the UK for four years.
In a world-first, the apprenticeship will include time spent on ship simulators, such as full-mission and part-mission bridge and tugboat simulators, as part of a pilot education programme with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
Apprentices can train for difficult, high-risk and challenging scenarios run on the simulators, enhancing the students’ competence and ability, within a safe training environment.
After completing training, apprentices become the most senior ranked officer, such as a ship master, on a vessel, enabling them to take charge of a vessel’s safety and navigation at sea and in harbours.
As a master, they will be required to ensure safe navigation, collision avoidance, vessel security, the safety of crew working on the outside decks and in the engineroom, and to protect the environment.
Masters on vessels of 500-gt or less work on a wide range of specialist vessels, in both the commercial and military sectors, including vessels carrying cargo or passengers, such as Royal Navy landing craft, tugs, fishing boats, commercial yachts and workboats.
This initiative was brought together by commercial vessel operators and was supported by Boluda Towage Europe, Boluda Towage SMS, British Tugowners Association (BTA), Forth Ports, Maritime Skills Alliance, Ministry of Defence, Port of Dover, Svitzer, Serco, The Workboat Association and Williams Shipping.
Industry response
The UK secretary of state for education Bridget Phillipson approved the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s (IfATE) recommendation of funding on 19 February 2025 and the apprenticeship standard has been approved for delivery by it. Apprenticeships can begin once a suitable end-point assessment organisation has obtained Ofqual recognition, a process now underway.
Department for Transport maritime minister Mike Kane says the UK government is “serious about breaking down barriers to opportunity and encouraging more people into careers,” adding this support for apprenticeships in the maritime sector, “will help develop and nurture the next generation of skilled, hardworking UK seafarers.”
Royal Navy’s merchant navy liaison officer and chair of the Master 500GT Trailblazer Group, David Carter, says this is a fully funded apprenticeship to gain an MCA master mariner certificate of competence “facilitating the UK government’s ambition for growth in British maritime skills in the offshore energy, towage and workboat sectors.”
IfATE and Department for Education both endorse the maximum permissible funding for 100% of the training costs. This includes going “beyond statutory minimum requirements in the apprenticeship” to include management level human element and leadership training and funding for the MCA bridge watchkeeping skills simulator course, says Mr Carter, adding this “industry first means the apprenticeship offers A+ standards and groundbreaking new training methods.”
IfATE acting chief executive, Carmel Grant, says these apprenticeships will show the maritime industry “how a combination of new technology and established training will enhance the skills of future ship’s masters, for smaller vessels, to ensure safety and to support navigation both at sea and in harbour.”
Svitzer UK managing director and BTA vice chairman Michael Paterson welcomes the apprenticeship funding as the Danish company operates more than 70 tugs in the UK. “The towage industry is an essential part of the UK maritime trade ecosystem, and this funding and pathway will ensure the future of the next generation of seafarers,” he says.
