Casting the net for fishing industry skills

Jun 12 2007 By The Journal

Thanks in part to European Social Fund (ESF) backing, North Shields' Seafood Training Centre is teaching catering skills to supply a growing demand for trained workers in the fishing industry.

The school is also having a positive impact on the regeneration of North Shields fish quay as a seafood training academy where fish filleters from all over the country can be trained.

Students learn every aspect of handling the fish, from the second it lands on the boat to when it arrives on the plate. There has been a demand for trained applicants in a variety of skills but most crucially, knife skills which are vital to the catering and hospitality sector.

Trainees learn to skillfully wield razor-sharp knives, identify scores of different fish species and follow strict health and safety guidelines. At the end of a 16-week course they qualify as fish filleters and can offset cold fingers and early mornings against high weekly earnings.

Training the workforce in valuable food processing skills helps local SMEs to grow and effectively supply the large competitive supermarket sector. The total project cost was £421,000, nearly half of which came from ESF money. Since inception in 2002, the school has trained over 400 people and helped them to get new jobs.

The development of the training school is enabling the industry to diversify into the more profitable shellfish sector, providing the facilities and equipment needed to teach specialised skills.

The North East has benefited from European Social Fund money under Objective 3, which seeks to equip the local workforce and fill skills gaps.

PICTURE CAPTION: The Seafood Training School