The Scottish Maritime Academy will exhibit at the Scottish Skipper Expo for the first time this year. Specialising in Navigation Certificate of Competency courses and practical skills training for new entrant deckhands, they also offer engineering courses for small vessels and STCW/Seafish mandatory training courses.\n\nAs part of Northeast Scotland College (NESCol), the Scottish Maritime Academy have existed in Peterhead since 2011 and continue to grow their reputation as a leading marine training provider.\n\nGiving an insight into the courses on offer, Centre Manager, Christopher Bell says, “We provide training for fisherman from all over the UK and Ireland including Class 1 Deck Officer Fishing (Skippering vessels over 24m), Class 2 Deck Officer Fishing (Skippering vessels between 16.5m to 24m), Trainee Deckhand (entry level course for beginners), AEC1 and AEC2 (engine courses) and many other STCW short courses.\n\n“Our Class 1 and Class 2 Deck Officer Fishing course exam results are always above national average and as a result we continually attract young skippers from all over the UK and Ireland. Our Trainee Deckhand course for new entrants also has the same appeal, most recently we had 2x young local 16-year-old graduates of the course go straight into employment in the local fishing fleet and both are also nominated for Trainee Fisherman of the Year 2024.”\n\nThe SMA are looking forward to networking with other marine industries at the Scottish Skipper Expo and invite visitors to Stand D7 to discuss their training and qualification needs.\n\n\n\n
