Welcome to the Maritime Skills Alliance
Image supplied by Bluewater Yachting
The Maritime Skills Alliance designs and promotes qualifications and apprenticeships for the UK’s maritime sector. We have developed a suite of interlocking standards and qualifications – MSQs, “Maritime Studies Qualifications” - which enable employees to progress both within their specialism and between sectors.
You can find a complete and regularly updated list of all our Units and Qualifications on the Qualifications page.
What do we do? We:
- develop qualifications and apprenticeships which suit the needs of the sector
- maintain a suite of National Occupational Standards
- work to secure a good range of high quality training provision across the country
- champion skills matters for the maritime sector
- work with a wide range of other bodies across the UK, especially national governments and their agencies, to further our aims
You can sign up for monthly Newsletter in the box to the right. Click here for our February 2020 Newsletter.
The MSA is not-for-profit (a Company Limited by Guarantee - company number 7939255), funded by its members.
Latest news
SQA reviews the Level 3 Diploma in Shipping and Maritime Occupations
SQA is reviewing the Level 3 Diploma in Shipping and Maritime Occupations, both deck and engine versions (GA6G 57 & GA6F 57) and the Scottish equivalent, the National Certificate in Shipping and Maritime Operations at SCQF Level 6 (G9GW 46).
They are all widely used for pre-cadetship programmes, but they were designed a decade or so ago. Are they doing the job they are now used for? Could they do more, eg by preparing the way for other occupations? Shajan Lukose from Fleetwood Nautical Campus is managing the review for SQA and plans to contact every centre currently offering these qualifications. If you are not on the current centre list and want to talk to him anyway, please get in touch.
There's more information here: Diploma Review briefing paper.
December 2019