From practice to theory our seafarer trainers are ready for business

When it comes to training seafarers, the best people to do that are those who have actually been seafarers themselves or have worked in this environment. However to take all that practice and turn it into learning opportunities for others requires skill and methodology. It’s something which, Marlins, V.Group’s training business, understands well and has developed a train the trainer course for V.Group trainers to help them to do this.

The course, which has been running for nearly 10 years, is delivered to both our onshore and on board trainers – to new joiners as well as a refresher for our senior trainers. The aim of the course explains Marlins manager Catherine Logie is to ensure our training is interactive, motivating and importantly effective:

“Our trainers are very experienced seafarers or experts in their own fields. Investment in their training ability brings out that experience in a way that engages delegates and creates a culture where people want to learn more.”

The courses are delivered by our senior international trainer, Tandy Taylor who deploys a number of techniques to take trainers out of their comfort zone to enhance their own learning experience: “Every course we run is tailored to the needs of the group however what is consistent is the opportunity for our trainers to swap ideas. We create a supportive and safe environment to enable them to try out new ideas, discuss with their peers and consider how to put that into practice.”

The latest course was run in Gdynia, Poland, with participants from V.Ships training centres globally, as well as our SeaTec Safety consultants and onboard trainers. As a final exercise, aimed at putting theory into practice on the methodology they’d learned during the course, delegates were set instructional tasks in unfamiliar environments. This emphasised the importance of instructional methodologies, which can now be put into practice confidently as trainers return to their home training centres or deploy to conduct onboard training.

This final task was one of the highlights of the course, as Tandy adds: “There were some creative and interesting presentations and it was great to see our trainers apply their new skills in a completely different subject area. It helps to reinforce that the training we provide can be applied to all jobs and sectors.”