Brock strikes deal with Warsash Maritime School to rebrand and relaunch Pre-Cadetship courses

Brockenhurst College leaders have agreed a deal with Warsash Maritime School, part of Solent University, Southampton, to formally align its Merchant Navy Pre-Cadetship courses with degree course admission requirements at the well-respected institution.

An official Memorandum of Understanding was approved by both partners recently, resulting in the Level 2 and Level 3 Pre-Cadetship programmes at Brock being rebranded the: Warsash Maritime School Pre-Cadetship at Brockenhurst College.

This means future pre-cadets at Brock’s Marchwood campus can have the utmost confidence in the accreditation behind their academic study and skills development.

Importantly, the new alignment directly reflects the Merchant Navy Training Board framework documents for Higher Education programmes such as Honours and Foundation degrees.

These qualifications may be awarded alongside a professional Certificate of Competency, which is the pivotal certification enabling graduating cadets to work as deck, engineering, or electro-technical officers.

The Head of Curriculum overseeing the Pre-Cadetship courses at Brockenhurst College, Lesley Chantler, said:

“This is a very proud moment for all staff involved in delivering both our Pre-Cadetship courses.

“It’s a validation of all their hard work that a maritime school of Warsash’s standing would associate itself with the training routes we provide.

“Since launching our first Pre-Cadetship course back in 2020, we have provided around 50 very able Cadets with full shipping industry sponsorship to our new colleagues at the School.”

Warsash Maritime School is world-renowned for its academic learning and industry training excellence, preparing officer cadets for careers in the Merchant Navy and on superyachts.

As well as providing a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, the School offers more than 150 accredited deck, engineering, interior, maritime and offshore safety training courses.

These are approved by the MCA, MNTB, OPITO, SIGTTO, SQA and other awarding bodies.

The School is also engaged in maritime research and consultancy in key industry areas including decarbonisation, digitalisation and autonomy.

It has already worked closely with Brock for several years, arranging campus trips and giving pre-cadets the benefit of lecturers’ knowledge and experience through outreach initiatives.

Deputy Director at Warsash Maritime School, Giuseppe Saieva, said:

“We’re delighted to be further enhancing our longstanding partnership with Brockenhurst College, enabling young people in Hampshire and the surrounding area the opportunity to build the very best foundations for a future career in maritime.

“The newly renamed Warsash Maritime School Pre-Cadetship at Brockenhurst College will provide learners with greater confidence and the skills and qualifications to take the next steps to become a maritime officer in the Merchant Navy or on superyachts.

“We look forward to welcoming the new pre-cadets to Warsash Maritime School and our industry-leading officer cadet training programme.”

Brock is one of only a handful of UK colleges to offer Pre-Cadetship courses for the Merchant Navy.

Students secure sponsorship with commercial shipping companies during their studies, which then pay for the next stage of their education – most likely at Warsash Maritime School.

Past Pre-Cadetship learners have gained sponsorship with leading organisations such as Carnival UK, Just Be Maritime, Ship Safe Training Group, Princess Cruises and Chiltern Maritime.

In 2023 Brockenhurst College was one of three finalists for the Best Maritime Training and Education Programme Award at the National Maritime SME Awards in London.

Meanwhile, Solent University recently celebrated a triple Gold Award for its Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) submission – a rating that reflects the typically outstanding quality of its student experience and student outcomes.