NEWS ARCHIVE
Students Spend Summer Sailing Around Greek Isles
Two students on the Light Marine Engineering Level 3 courses at Falmouth Marine School are spending this summer sailing around the Greek islands.
Ross Davies, 17 from Looe and Mike Lean, 18 from Truro, will be working as Flotilla Engineers on Neilson boats as they sail around the Greek islands for seven months. Their duties will involve looking after the lead boat and making sure all the holiday charter boats are ok and that everyone has a good time. Neilson offer yachting holidays for all levels from experienced sailors to complete beginners. The boats are run by a qualified and dedicated crew as they cruise from village to village along the coastlines of Greece.
Ross and Mike worked hard to complete their course early in order to start their summer jobs. They secured the posts at the Falmouth Marine School Marine & Outdoor Industry Day last December. The event is held each year to introduce students to the range of career areas and jobs available to them in the outdoor industry. Representatives from outdoor education companies including Neilson, Elemental, PGL, Mark Warner, Sunsail, Rockley Club Vass, South West were at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth where the event is held. Mike and Ross met the Neilson representatives who explained about jobs available and duties expected. They then filled out application forms, had interviews and signed the contract.
Ross had always had an interest in the sea as his father is a fisherman. "I have grown up with an interest in mechanics and marine engines. I found out about the engineering courses at Falmouth Marine School through a friend of mine who was studying at the College. I really enjoyed the course as it is mainly practical and includes things like welding." After the summer Ross is thinking of staying on at Neilson for the winter season working in one of their ski resorts in Europe or perhaps getting on an apprenticeship or going back to college.
Mike would like to go on to work on super yachts. "The Light Marine Engineering course is really good as you learn a lot of different subjects and not just engineering. It also includes boat design, which involves design drawings. I'd like to get a job on super yachts and work my way up. I'll probably start as a deck hand and do a bit of everything and work my way up to engineer - my course at Falmouth Marine School and my work experience will mean I can move up quite fast."
Martin Peart, Marine Engineering tutor at Falmouth Marine School commented: "I'm really pleased that Mike and Ross have secured summer jobs. They worked hard all year and were very dedicated. Their qualification coupled with the experience they'll gain over the summer will set them up for a fast track career in the marine industry."
Dave Linnell OBE, Principal of Cornwall College commented: "It's great to hear that students have gained jobs so soon after finishing their course. Falmouth Marine School continues to produce qualified graduates of the highest calibre who go on to prestigious jobs in the marine industry."
