S6 Ep14: South Devon College Marine Academy

In this episode, we meet students, tutors and managers at the South Devon College Marine Academy to discuss how maritime training is evolving amid shipping’s digital and energy transitions. The Academy, on the banks of the River Dart, in South West England, trains between 70 and 100 students and apprentices each year in its maritime programmes. Join our Senior Editor Ariane Morrissey as she accompanies a group of Maritime Studies pupils on a sea outing on the last day of their year-long programme, in June 2025. We meet Emma Eggleton and Harry Clayton, both 17, who share their thoughts on the profound changes that the maritime industry will experience during their future careers at sea – and why they feel up to the challenge. During our visit, learning support technician Shaun Cuming and lecturer Rebecca Sanders explain how they have already started adapting their teaching to prepare their students for the new fuels and technologies that they are likely to encounter on ships.Finally, Paul Singer, business and qualification development coordinator at the Academy, reflects on the challenges that the energy transition is bringing for maritime training institutions, including that of developing new course content, training its own teaching staff, and finding funding for new equipment for its workshops. He argues that the transition can open up new opportunities, as the industry is already manifesting its demand for training courses to upskill its workforce, and demand for trained maritime workers will grow from emerging sectors such as offshore wind.