Maritime College plans for expansion to cater for offshore energy demand

As well as new courses for the offshore energy sector, the college is looking to upgrade courses in seamanship, smaller vessels, coastal trade and logistics

Cormac Gebruers, Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland, said offshore energy production from winds and tides “will become the biggest game in town” in the next couple of years. Photo: Dan Linehan

The country's national maritime college is planning for expansion of its headquarters in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, and to create outreach centres to cater for increased demand, especially from offshore energy generation.

The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) is planning to create new courses specific to the requirements of the offshore energy sector and also to boost its apprenticeship courses.

Cormac Gebruers, NMCI head of the college, said offshore energy production from winds and tides “will become the biggest game in town” in the next couple of years and this significant change in decarbonising of energy resources will require his college to adapt accordingly.

Mr Gebruers said a major review will start at NMCI next month, to be completed by next spring, which will look at adding and updating courses to prepare people to feed the requirements of emerging offshore energy projects.

He said he expects new qualifications to be introduced for servicing the sector and as such the NMCI is looking at upgrading a number of courses including in seamanship, smaller vessels, coastal trade and logistics as more companies get involved in the movement of goods and materials associated with offshore energy production.

Mr Gebruers said new courses will increase footfall at the Ringaskiddy facility and while there's some capacity there, it's likely to become an issue in the next five years warranting an extension.

The college has some land that it can use at the rear of the facility for further building and there is some land adjacent to it, which it doesn't own, that could also be looked at if required.

Mr Gebruers also said there is likely to be a need to create outreach centres for the maritime college, especially somewhere around the east coast where the country's first offshore windfarms are planned for construction.

“These are very exciting times for us here in the maritime college. There needs to be a national maritime training policy for offshore renewables which will require very large numbers of people (serving it). It will require a lot of joined-up thinking,” Mr Gebruers said.

“We used to have apprenticeship courses and we are planning to reintroduce them. These will also be key to providing people to the offshore sector,” he added.

Blended learning is also likely to play an increasing role in courses provided by the NMCI.

“Covid was challenging, but we still had to keep courses going through the pandemic. We managed to do a lot of stuff online. There's a growing interest in a more blended delivery of courses as it reduces travelling time for those taking them and it gives us more capacity in the college,” Mr Gebruers said.

The Naval Service sends 150 personnel to NMCI  each year on training courses.

There are around 3,500 other students - including 400 undergraduates and several frontline emergency services personnel - attending courses there throughout the year.

There are also a number of international seafarers who attend refresher and upskilling courses.