Leading Journal of the Irish & UK Fishing Industries

The BIM National Fisheries Colleges of Ireland reopened last month. The colleges, in Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork had temporarily closed due to restrictions put in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in March.

The reopening coincides with the colleges’ recent achievement of ISO 9001:2015 certification; the internationally recognised standard for quality management systems.  This certification further ensures that the training received by learners will be of a consistently high standard across all training sites including the two colleges and mobile coastal training units.

Additionally, BIM’s updated Quality Assurance System, for the delivery of programmes leading to awards on the National Framework of Qualifications was recently approved by QQI (Quality & Qualifications Ireland).

Since March, BIM supported a range of students through a mix of online learning and project work.

Earlier in the year, the Skipper Full Certificate of Competency Programme was adapted and made available online during the college closure. The full-time programme, comprising of nine weeks of online learning and an additional three weeks in the classroom in the National Fisheries College, Castletownbere will support four students to complete their studies and receive a skipper licence in 2020.

Extensive consultation has taken place to ensure the safe delivery of training programmes for students and staff of BIM in line with government and HSE advice, and the teams in the colleges look forward to welcoming students back to undertake a wide range of industry training.