Posted: February 24, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) will host a hybrid conference/webinar on Friday 4 March 2022 entitled ‘Our Offshore Renewable Energy Opportunity – Is Ireland Ready?’. The conference, sponsored by Simply Blue Group, will bring together representatives from across Ireland’s maritime and supply chain workforce to explore their preparedness to the Offshore renewables’ opportunity.
Capt Brian FitzGerald, Simply Blue Group, Dr Val Cummins, Simply Blue Group, Michael McGrath, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Cormac Gebruers, Head of College, NMCI and Mark O’Reilly, Fishery Liaisons Officer at the launch of the conference ‘Our Offshore Renewable Energy Opportunity – Is Ireland Ready?’.
The conference will seek specifically to put the spotlight on the qualifications and certifications for the fishing industry to ensure it is fit for the dual purpose of keeping fishermen fishing, while simultaneously ensuring that our coastal communities mariners and infrastructure are best placed to contribute to and benefit from this developing maritime industry.
Minister for Agriculture and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue will open the event, which will be Chaired by Feargal Keane from RTE Radio 1 programme ‘Seascapes’. Speakers include Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, Dr Alan Power, Assistant Principal, Labour Market and Skills Unit, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as well as Dr Val Cummins, Simply Blue Group, Damien Turner (IS&WFPO), Wind Europe, and a representative from BIM will participate.
Among the topics for discussion are the Policy Regime for Renewable Energy; the Expert Group on Future Workforce Skills Report on the Low Carbon Economy; A Developer Case Study – Floating Offshore Wind off Ireland’s Coasts; Co-existence of Offshore Renewable Energy with the Fishing Industry; and the Future opportunities for Ireland’s Fishing Industry.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD said: “The Government is committed to Ireland achieving its ambitious 2030 targets of generating 5GW of offshore wind and 80% renewables as a critical element of our national strategy to address climate change. The enactment of the Maritime Area Planning Bill will be central to this strategy. Of equal importance will be ensuring we have the requisite skills in the maritime and supply chain workforce to realise the full potential of this exciting opportunity for our coastal communities. This conference, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders will be an excellent showcase for the potential of this rapidly evolving sector.”
Speaking about the event, Captain Brian Fitzgerald, Director of External Affairs and Stakeholder Liaison, Simply Blue Group said “As Ireland struggles to meet the challenges of climate change, and fishing communities struggle with an unknown future, offshore renewable energy developments will have a far greater chance of delivering a sustainable future for all, including the incentivization of our youth to get involved, if the solutions are co-created. Ireland needs its best team on the field.”
Cormac Gebruers, Head of College, NMCI, said “We look forward to hosting this significant discussion for the maritime community. We hope the event will awaken Ireland’s mariners to an exciting and co-existing future that sees a thriving and growing fishing industry working in harmony with Ireland meeting its climate action targets.”
Mark O’Reilly, MD Fishery Liaisons said “The stakeholders most affected by Ireland’s development of its ocean wealth are those in our fishing industry and associated coastal communities. It is well known that they face increasing challenges and fears for the future. In the areas suitable for offshore wind development, nobody knows the sea and the seabed better than the fishers that work there. The sensible approach is for the industry and developers to work together to harness the possibilities from offshore wind.”
To attend this conference in-person or online please contact events@simplybluegroup.com Full programme available here
ENDS
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Posted: March 16, 2020
The disruption caused by COVID-19 will prevent some OPITO delegates from completing their refresher training before their current cert’s expiry date.
To facilitate such circumstances OPITO have on their website the “OPITO Certificate Extension Policy”.
The associated forms are also available on the OPITO website or via links from the policy.
Take time to read the policy. Many of the enquiries our admin team have received are well covered within the “OPITO Certificate Extension Policy”.
We greatly appreciate the efforts of those working in the industry both Onshore and Offshore. Stay safe everyone.
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Posted: February 20, 2020
Our history
GAC Training & Service Solutions Limited (GTSS) was launched in February 2010, aiming to provide cost saving and innovative training solutions for the LNG industry and other maritime sectors. GTSS combines GAC’s global reach, over sixty years of maritime expertise and powerful branding with the National Maritime College of Ireland’s (NMCI) skilled lecturers and instructors.
GAC’s business philosophy is about people, and long-term relationships with them. GAC value all people, whether they are a customer, a potential client, a partner, a supplier or one of their 9,000 employees in fifty countries around the globe.
Together, both companies recognise that optimally trained staff can crucially reduce physical, environmental and financial risks. GTSS offers a comprehensive range of courses and services, catering to the growing needs of the maritime industry. Visit https://www.nmci.ie/index.cfm/page/gtss to see a full list of courses.
A new era in bespoke training
2014 was the beginning of a new exciting era for GTSS when the company was awarded, what was then a four-year, training contract with an oil major. This was the single largest maritime training contract in the history of the Irish state and training continues to this day.
Our client made the decision to focus on the value added training of its ship’s officers to further increase efficiencies and most importantly safety throughout its fleet and met with several colleges
around the world for this purpose. At the end of the process the client choose GTSS as its preferred training partner due in part to the college’s modern physical facilities, favourable location and in part to the NMCI’s unique commercial experience, ethos and structures.
GAC played an important part in the decision process as they already had a long established global contract with the client for shipping services.
At the time of the signing of the contract Minister Richard Bruton, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation was quoted as saying;
“Here is an Irish organisation, winning deals with a major US company, increasing its export sales and ultimately creating jobs in Ireland. I wish both parties every success with this project”.
Customer focus
We recognise that our clients’ needs are not all the same and therefore our bespoke training reflects this. Our team have travelled to meet with clients from all industry areas, ranging from cruise
companies, and oil majors to superyachts management companies to discuss exactly what their training requirements are and where their preferred training locations are based.
Specialist training by experienced maritime professionals is fundamental to realising profitable efficiencies and minimising environmental and financial risks, both onshore and shipside. GTSS continues to provide innovative and cost saving training solutions to the maritime industry.
GTSS course developers and lecturers have unrivalled knowledge in military training, oil and gas, logistics, chartering, trading, ship operating, shipbroking and navigation. We have invested in building a focused team of highly qualified maritime and operational professionals to ensure the clients we collaborate with receive specialised training of the highest standards.
The future
It has been an exciting ten years for GTSS. We will continue to provide niche, high value and technologically advanced training courses, while empowering professionals, in the Maritime, Transport & Commodity Sectors for many years to come.
James O’Byrne, Managing Director of GTSS said,“10 years of GTSS in business is a proud moment for us. Not only does it signal 10 years of continuous success and loyalty, more importantly, it signals 10 years of providing vital training to the maritime industry. Thousands of seafarers have attended our courses and we have influenced their decisions and cultures onboard. We like to think that the industry is a safer place for our training. This is what makes us proud. We shall continue to grow and share our message across all sectors of our industry and make the world a safer and kinder place.”
For more information on GTSS courses please visit https://www.nmci.ie/index.cfm/page/gtss
For more information on GAC please visit https://www.gac.com/
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Posted: October 29, 2019
Are you interested in a career at sea? If your answer is yes… then read on!
The annual Maritime Careers Event and Open Day will take place at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) on Thursday, 7th November 2019 from 10:00 to 15:00.
Representatives from international shipping companies and maritime organisations will be available to provide information about careers in the maritime industry.
Throughout the day there will be:
- Tours of the state of the art training facilities at the college.
- An events’ hall to visit international maritime companies and organisations.
- Presentations for schools and students on course opportunities at the NMCI.
For enquiries and group bookings please telephone: 021-4335607.
E-mail: admissions@nmci.ie
National Maritime College of Ireland, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.
We look forward to seeing you on the 7th!
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Posted: May 25, 2018
The Rás Tailteann is an annual, eight-day, stage race around Ireland covering over 1,100kms. The race is Ireland’s number one cycling event with participants, both professional and amateurs, from all around the world.
SEFtec NMCI Offshore (SNO) have sponsored the “Gerry McVeigh Cars Doormotion” team, pictured here at the beginning of the week. Also pictured is SNO’s Ruth Murphy with Ciaran Murphy, taken after Stage 5, Glengarriff to Mitchelstown yesterday.
Today the team travels 155kms from Mitchelstown to Carlow for Stage 6. The race finishes on Sunday in Skerries, Co Dublin.
Best of luck to all the team!
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