Cornwall Marine Academy: Making a difference to Cornwall's young people

Cornwall Marine Network is providing opportunities and improving job prospects for local young people, aged 14-16, across Cornwall with their Marine Academy programme.

Having started in 2008, the Marine Academy exists to support young people in the local community, inspire them to look at work opportunities in the marine sector, and improve their employability skills. The Academy works with volunteer Marine Ambassadors from local marine businesses to deliver workshops and support to school children right across Cornwall.

So far they have supported 35,000 young people aged 14-16 to understand local marine job opportunities, and supported 3,750 young people to gain meaningful vocational work experience at local member businesses premises.

Dave Wickes, Partnerships and Delivery Manager from Cornwall Marine Academy, told Falmouth Life more about the programme. Dave said: “It’s all about giving local young people the chance and the platform to demonstrate they are employable.

“The young people have to buy in and put the effort in; the more they put in, the more they get out of it. Those that put the effort in are more likely to get jobs in the sector. Our job in the Academy is to give them the foothold and the chance to get started.”

The Marine Academy also works to address the high skilled engineering shortage in Cornwall, inspiring the next generation of engineers to be able to put their skills to use in their home towns and communities. Cornwall Marine Network’s biggest focus is on skills and training, and the Marine Academy is a huge part of this.

Having had their apprenticeship model deemed ‘the best in the whole of Europe’ by the European Alliance of Apprenticeships, it’s no wonder that so many young people in Cornwall are benefiting from the Marine Academy, being pointed in the right direction to grasp those all-important opportunities. Dave added: “I’m really proud of what we do."

If you’re interested in benefiting from Cornwall Marine Academy, or finding out more about how they can help, go to www.cornwallmarineacademy.co.uk