National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQs), based on National Occupational Standards (NOS) developed by the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) and the Sea Fish Industry Authority (SFIA), were introduced into the merchant navy and the sea fishing industry in 1994.  They cover the occupational roles of personnel employed in vessels of all kinds. 

Most of the qualifications are for occupational roles that require statutory licensing by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The MCA issues Certificates of Competency to seafarers who demonstrate that they meet the required standards (which may be attested to in full or in part through achievement of N/SVQs or specified groups of units).  Thus the NOS provide the basic building blocks or units for qualifications that reflect the role and functions performed by individuals aboard ship, covering the following five functional areas:

• Operations common to both deck and engineering         
• Navigation and control
• Marine engineering, including maintenance
• Operations dependent on the function of the vessel
• Specialist. 

The first three functional areas are common to all vessels, while the fourth and fifth contain those functions that relate to particular types of vessel, e.g. fishing or cargo carrying or a specialist function. 

Revised NOS were approved in 2000 and the existing N/SVQs in Marine Vessel Support (Level 2), Marine Vessel Operations (Levels 3 and 4) and Marine Vessel Engineering (Level 3 and 4) are accredited until March 2006.  The purpose of the present project is to prepare for the next round of accreditation from 2006 onwards by reviewing the NOS to which the qualifications are benchmarked to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and reflect any changes in the industry that may impact on them (e.g. changes in technology, in working practices, in regulatory aspects). 

Internal reviews recently undertaken by MNTB and SFIA with employers and other stakeholders indicate that:

1.      the merchant navy pathways in the Levels 2 and 3 qualifications appear to be working well.  They are well-used and understood by the industry.  They provide the lynch-pin to the cadet training programmes by marrying the MCA regulatory requirements and associated Higher National Diploma (HND) qualifications into a complete package of education and training that demonstrates achievement of national and international standards of competency;

2.      the Level 4 merchant navy pathways are not working so well.  There has been little take-up to date by the industry or by individuals seeking to obtain their statutory certificates of competency via this route.  To encourage take up, it has been necessary to develop a two-stage approach to the deck qualification, enabling the requirements for the related certificate of competency to be obtained after the first stage.  It has been proposed that engineering follows a similar course;

3.      the seafishing pathways have been limited in take up at Levels 2 and 3, partly because of constraints posed by some units that are common to more than one pathway.  For that purpose SFIA has recently completed a piece of work to develop new units and qualification structures at Level 2 and 3, and these now need some time to be implemented.  The Level 4 pathways, however, are working reasonably well.  SFIA has identified the potential for a Level 1 qualification to provide an entry route into the industry – whether there is a need to develop new NOS or to provide a qualification structure and pathway from the existing or revised standards is not known as yet;

4.      the tug sector has identified a number of problems with the existing standards and qualification structures that have inhibited take-up to date.  As with sea fishing, these stem from the attempt to use common units across the MN, sea fishing and tug ‘pathways’.  The employers concerned have, however, developed their own training system, with portfolios to satisfy the VQ requirements and a system to deliver the underpinning knowledge.

The MNTB and SFIA have a close relationship with Port Skills and Safety Limited (PSSL), who are currently developing new NOS for the ports industry.  It is intended to take advantage of the opportunity for liaison and potential joint work with PSSL on recently-identified areas of some commonality within their Level 2 Marine Operations N/SVQ.