Open the door to an exciting marine career and earn while you learn!
Develop your knowledge and skills, gain practical hands-on experience, and unlock an exciting career in the marine industry.
Whether you are preparing to leave school or looking to change careers, the marine industry offers a range of exciting apprenticeship opportunities, a variety of challenges and a spirit of teamwork.
Apprentices may attend college or other training establishment as well as being out in the workplace, getting first-hand experience in a range of work activity areas.
As an apprentice you will be assigned a coach/mentor who will guide you through the apprenticeship, which will last anything from one to six years, depending on the apprenticeship being undertaken.
You will take home a salary - as you will be earning whilst learning, gaining qualifications and occupational experience at the same time.
You may want to find out more about marine apprenticeships or have some questions that you want answered. For example:
- What marine apprenticeships are there?
- Are there specific entry requirements for the different apprenticeships?
- How much will I get paid?
- How do I apply for an apprenticeship?
To get answers to these and more, contact our training team at training@britishmarine.co.uk
Current Industry Opportunities
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Benefits to
employers
Apprenticeships offer a range of business benefits to employers:
- They can help grow your business by tackling skill shortages and developing the skilled workers needed for the future.
- They provide an effective way of attracting enthusiastic new talent.
- They can be an effective way of developing existing staff moving into new occupational roles.
- They can support innovation and aid company expansion.
- Government funding is available to train and develop apprentices, this funding will vary according to the type of apprenticeship scheme being delivered.
For more on the apprenticeships policy in England click here: Apprenticeships policy in England - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
British Marine is committed to promoting the growth of marine apprenticeships in order to sustain and improve the level of competency in the industry.
In doing this British Marine is supporting a number of marine employer groups that are developing or reviewing Apprenticeship Standards, as part of the ongoing Government apprenticeship reforms in England. The British Marine training team are also involved in supporting work in some of the devolved nations.
Marine Apprenticeship Standards
British Marine is supporting employer groups in developing and reviewing marine apprenticeship standards.
The apprenticeship standards developed so far by employer groups include - Boatbuilder, Marine Engineer, Marine Electrician, Marina and Boatyard Operative and Surface Finisher, to name a few. A full list can be found below, please note new standards are developed regularly, please contact us if you cannot find what you are looking for.
There are a total of 693 apprenticeship standards currently approved for delivery across many sectors. There are a number of generic standards, such as Business Administrator level 3, Team Leader / Supervisor level 3 and Operations / Department Manager level 5. To learn more about the apprenticeships on offer and sectors please click here.
Apprenticeship standard |
Level |
Boatbuilder |
3 |
Boat Master |
3 |
Composites Technician |
3 |
First officer pilot |
6 |
Harbour master |
6 |
Heritage engineering technician |
3 |
Marina and boatyard operative |
2 |
Marine Electrician |
3 |
Marine Engineer |
3 |
Marine Pilot |
5 |
Maritime caterer |
2 |
Maritime mechanical and electrical mechanic |
2 |
Officer of the watch
|
3 |
Port marine operations officer |
4 |
Port operative |
2 |
Small Commercial Vessel Crewmember |
3 |
Small vessel chief engineer |
4 |
Surface Finisher
|
3 |
Marine Surveyor (Degree) |
6 |
Marine Technical Superintendent
|
7 |
Apprenticeship
FAQ
You may have a number of questions regarding apprenticeships for example: what they are, the different types of apprenticeship schemes, who may be an apprentice, and the terms and conditions. Answers to these can be found below.
Find some helpful information around careers in the Maritime Sector from our 2024 careers event.
Apprenticeships offer genuine, paid employment, training and development in a skilled occupation over a specified period of time (between 1 to 6 years) to those aged 16 or over who are not in full time education and are eligible to work in the UK.
Apprenticeships can be offered to new staff or existing employees who re taking on a new occupational role.
Marine sector apprenticeships are available to those aged 16 or over who are not in full time education and who are eligible to work in the UK.
They can be new staff or existing staff taking on a new occupational role.
- They provide an effective way of attracting enthusiastic new talent.
- They can provide an effective means of developing existing staff taking on a new occupational role.
- They can assist in solving recruitment challenges and aid succession planning.
- They can support innovation and aid company expansion.
- 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation
- 78% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity
- 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve the quality of their product or service
No, each approved apprenticeship is assigned a level that links to an equivalent academic level.
- Level 2 -These intermediate apprenticeships are equivalent to 5 GCSE passes at grades A* to C (or the new numeric grades 9 to 4).
- Level 3 – These advanced apprenticeships offer more specialised knowledge and skills and are equal to A levels.
- Levels 4 to 7 - These apprenticeships focus on higher-level professional skills and can be equal to a foundation degree, a Higher National Certificate (HNC), or a Higher National Diploma (HND).
- Level 6 to 7 - These apprenticeships lead to either a full bachelor's or master's degree. Some apprenticeships require certain qualifications, for example GCSE English and maths. You may be given extra training to meet these qualifications. You may also have to meet academic requirements to apply for a higher or degree apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships can have entry requirements
Apprenticeship Graduation Awards
Each year at Southampton Boat Show, British Marine celebrates marine industry apprentices with an annual Apprenticeship Graduation Awards ceremony.
Industry apprenticeship supporters such as Ben Ainslie, Monty Halls Annie Lush of Team SCA and British round-the-world yachtswoman Pip Hare have awarded the apprentices with their certificates highlighting the success of these new employees and showing how important they are to the marine industry.
The event receives a selection of graduating apprentices from all areas of the industry, in roles varying from marine engineers’ to riggers and carpenters and marketing and sales, recognising the diversity of accessible skills and careers in the sector.
Over the years, some of the biggest names in the marine sector have run successful schemes in a bid to develop their future workforce.
British Marine has been working with companies to support marine apprentices for a number of years to ensure that the industry, bringing £2.9 billion worth of turnover to the UK economy, continues to thrive.
Most recently, British Marine has been supporting employer groups (Trailblazers) that have been developing and reviewing the Marine Apprenticeship Standards. For example, boatbuilding, marine engineering, and marina and boatyard operative apprenticeship standards. Other marine Apprenticeship Standards have been developed and more will come in due course.
Useful Apprenticeship Links
There is a wealth of information for employers who may be considering taking on an apprentice for the first time, and also information for those employers who have established apprenticeship programmes.
These include the:
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education
Apprenticeships | Learn About Apprenticeships And Find The Right One For You (ucas.com)
Hire an apprentice (apprenticeships.gov.uk).
More useful links are available on the member page.
British Marine news items are published regularly advising on apprenticeship rule and funding changes, or when significant documents are revised on GOV.UK
At Berthon we also support other schemes and programmes that feed into our apprenticeship and graduate roles. These include internships and summer work placements for university students, work experience for schools and sixth-form colleges, as well as ‘Teacher Encounters’ and ‘back to the floor days’ for educators
Keith Longman Apprenticeships at Berthon