Alnwick apprentice making waves as engineer

Two historic marine organisations have joined forces to help ensure that the North East’s seafaring skills continue.
Pharos Offshore apprentice Jamie Lorimer, Dawn Robinson of North P&I and Chris Hall from Pharos Offshore.Pharos Offshore apprentice Jamie Lorimer, Dawn Robinson of North P&I and Chris Hall from Pharos Offshore.
Pharos Offshore apprentice Jamie Lorimer, Dawn Robinson of North P&I and Chris Hall from Pharos Offshore.

Tyneside-based shipping and marine insurer, North P&I Club and the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights are sponsoring the marine apprenticeship of Jamie Lorimer, from Alnwick Moor.

Jamie, 20, is now in his final year of his apprenticeship working at Blyth-based subsea specialist Pharos Offshore with tuition from Northumberland College.

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Jamie’s apprenticeship has been funded by North P&I Club via its involvement with the Shipwrights Apprenticeship Scheme.

Funding from this scheme is only available to small and medium sized businesses in the marine sector who are committed to developing their skills base but who do not pay into, or benefit from, the apprenticeship levy.

The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights subsidise the cost of wages during the first year of the apprenticeship.

Demand for Shipwrights Company grants is high and only the most exceptional apprentices such as Jamie are successful in securing sponsorship.

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The former Duchess Community High School student has been given a thorough grounding in the various skills required at Pharos Offshore including a range of different mechanical, hydraulic and electrical based skills necessary for a multi-tasking engineer fitter.

He is now in the final year of his training and is currently working on the repair and refurbishment of a subsea remote operated vehicle as part of his final year project.

Jamie said: “I have learnt a lot in my two years of being here and have worked on a wide range of equipment gaining many different skills, it has been a very good opportunity for what is available in the local area and I am excited to progress my career with Pharos.”

Chris Hall, technical manager at Pharos Offshore, said: “It’s really important for us as a company to take on new people and to teach them the skills which they will need for a career in the marine sector.

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“However, as an SME, this is not always possible financially so the Shipwrights Apprenticeship Scheme has been beneficial for us, as it means that we have been able to bring in Jamie and pass on our skills and knowledge to him.

“He’s been a terrific apprentice who’s really become a part of the team and he looks to have a very bright future ahead of him. As with every apprenticeship, it’s the individual who, if they can apply themselves correctly, make the experience an enjoyable learning process for both the individual and the company.

“Now that Jamie has a broad range of skills, he has opted to head down a more specific mechanical/hydraulic career in the marine sector.

"He will shortly, with sponsorship from the Shipwrights, be attending the National Fluid Power Centre. He will complete a week of training and at the end of hit hopefully achieve his Cetop H1 National Certification."

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Dawn Robinson, global director of people at North P&I, said: “We’re delighted to hear how well Jamie’s apprenticeship is going and the contribution which he is making at Pharos Offshore.”

Andy Levene, Shipwrights Company apprenticeship scheme manager, said: “Jamie has proven to be a very worthy beneficiary of our grant, and has already produced an excellent progress report, which the committee of the Shipwrights Apprenticeship Scheme thoroughly enjoyed reading. We hope he will continue to go from strength to strength.”

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