ZERO TO HERO ROUND UP THEIR 8TH TRAINING | SOUALIGA NEWSDAY

SINT MAARTEN (COLE BAY) - The latest Zero to Hero program nearly comes to an end, as 12 local participants finish their STCW 2010 and their Superyacht Crew/RIB/Small Power Boat/VHF Courses with trainings held at the Maritime School of the West Indies in Cole Bay.

This initiative, organized by Kidz at Sea Foundation, is one of 11 local projects in round 3 of the NRPB’s R4CR grant program which was established to support community projects through the Trust Fund. The Kidz at Sea Foundation’s Zero to Hero program specifically focusses on getting young adults prepared for jobs within the maritime industry, which can occur on St. Maarten or in the wider world.

Lead by Lorraine Talmi, Garth Steyn, Iain Mobbs, Rien Korteknie and Jon Westmoreland, the students learnt a range of skills sets, from boatbuilding and maintenance to basic communication and safety trainings. The STCW 2010 course is the essential entry level course to the industry, as it is deemed necessary for any professional crew to be current in this certification.   It includes training in Basic Firefighting, Elementary First Aid, Personal Survival Techniques (Sea Survival), and Proficiency in Maritime Security Awareness.

“We had a young and energetic group of students, who showed high academic skills” says Instructor Jon Westmoreland. He also mentions that it is interesting to see how some students gravitate more towards job opportunities on motor yachts, whereas others find the sailing yachts more appealing. “We hope that we have prepared these young adults as much as possible to enter this tough but prominent industry”. Jon explains that he runs a tight ship with strict scheduling, to get them used to the realities of the yachting industry; one in which rules and regulations are off a high standard.

Several of the students who have participated in previous rounds have integrated well into the industry and are working on or around boats around the world. “Hopefully we can see the same happening for the students of this 8th round of the Zero to Hero program” as per Jon.

The students learn to sail as part of their training.

Student learn skills such as boat building and maintenance.