Williams Shipping Marine Apprentices 2022

Williams Shipping are delighted to be welcoming a further 5 apprentices into the business this week. Two will be based at our Pembroke site and three will be based in Southampton. This takes our total number of marine apprentices to 9. Two of our new apprentices are women, and we’re really pleased to be encouraging women into the marine industry at the start of their careers, as according to a report by Marine Industry News, only 29% of the UK marine industry is made up of women.

Workboat crew member apprenticeship

Williams Shipping apprentices are carrying out the level 3 Workboat Crew Member Apprenticeship. This is a two-year programme designed to give apprentices all the skills, knowledge and training to work on a wide variety of specialist vessels. These range from tugs and multi-purpose workboats to fast pilot boats and crew transfer vessels taking personnel out to vessels or installations offshore. Our workboats operate in varying marine environments such as construction of offshore wind farms, providing a range of services within a port or inland waterways, including surveys and towage. They also act as support vessels in major salvage operations and wreck removal.

The new apprentices will return to Williams Shipping locations in Pembroke and Southampton to start their practical training on workboats. The course continues with rotations between training at UKSA and hands-on workboat experience, which should give these apprentices the skills they need for the variety of operations carried out at sea.

Workboat crew typically form part of a small, skilled team of two to four, working on a wide variety of specialist vessels including tugs, multicats, stores vessels, pilot boats and crew transfer vessels.

Philip Williams, Managing Director – Marine at Williams Shipping, comments: “We are really proud of these enthusiastic workboat apprentices who have already shown they have an appetite to work hard, learn new skills and take on the responsibilities of working at sea as part of a skilled vessel crew. We are sure they will be great members of our team and look forward to working with them long into the future.”

UKSA – apprenticeship expansion

UKSA been working in tandem with Williams Shipping, and other Southampton companies, Veolia and SeaCat Services and has now announced a new partnership with The Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC) which will mean they can expand their apprenticeship offering for young people across England.

The charity is based on the Isle of Wight, and provides education, world-leading maritime training, and water-based adventures. It will be able to deliver apprenticeship schemes and provide young people with employment, while undertaking quality training in specialist sectors within the marine industry – specifically ports, harbours and near coastal routes.

UKSA is now able to offer many more apprenticeships next year helping to plug the UK skills gap estimated to reach 4m in the next two years.

Ben Willows, CEO of UKSA said: “Industry partnerships are incredibly important for creating more pathways in maritime. The more opportunities on offer, the more young people we can get into the workplace to start long-term maritime careers fulfilling vital roles in the maritime industry.”

For more information about our Marine services, visit our solutions page or call our friendly team on 023 8052 9555