Training on board

The company, which provides passenger service between Ireland (Dublin and Rosslare) and Wales (Holyhead and Pembroke), ran its project in partnership with the Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland) and the Coleg Menai (Wales). The training programme was developed according to the British System of National Vocational Qualification (NVQs), a standardised method considered the most appropriate because it is based on real working situations at sea. The programme also includes an evaluation of the candidates according to their actual performance, where it has to be proven that they have the qualifications required after a series of tests at different levels. Two surveys were conducted before the project began, one of the customers and the other of the participants. In 1996, three programmes were developed in three complementary areas: food preparation and hygiene, customer service and management and inspection. Over the following two years, 167 NVQ diplomas were awarded. The improvement in the basic qualifications and level of skills of the personnel of the ferries immediately had a positive impact on the company's image. In the light of this success, the training programme has been extended to new participants, and the partners have turned their attention to the transferable nature of the project. The possibility of introducing an Irish system equivalent to the British NVQs is being examined, and quality surveys of customers and participants are being carried out.