Celebrating our 500th successful remote learner
We started to offer fully online and remote training programmes in May 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then we’ve issued more than 500 awards to people who have completed courses remotely. Learners have studied a wide range of topics including food hygiene, fish quality assessment and bivalve purification.
Our 500th remote learner and their employer
Our 500th successful learner was Boris Vascenko of Laeso Fish Ltd. He studied for an Elementary Food Hygiene qualification using our free online materials. After passing an invigilated exam in February he said:
I started at Laeso Fish on the 26th June 2020 as an Engineer. This is my first proper engineering role after serving an apprenticeship at another company. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here. Although I work as a lone engineer I have good back up from the management team to help me do my job to the best of my ability with regular meetings for feedback and to discuss potential needs.
I found the Seafish food hygiene course very interesting as I like to always be learning. I enjoyed using the online platform as it allows me to learn at my own pace. I can fit it in around my work schedule as well as being able to soak in the information without the pressure of someone having to talk through it in a few hours.
David Park, Quality Assurance Technician at Laeso Fish Ltd is another supporter of our remote and online training programmes. He added:
Owned by a Danish company, Laeso Fish Ltd specialises in Langoustines. The company is run on a daily basis by Business Unit Manager Sarah Urquhart. It is also a member of the Scottish Seafood Association (SSA). Laeso Fish Ltd is currently Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) approved but with the help of the SSA is looking to be Global Food Safety Initiative approved for the first time within the next 12 months.
Laeso Fish Ltd is dedicated to supplying the best product to their customers. As such the company invests in their staff by providing effective and industry specific training on offer from Seafish. The online platform allows staff to carry out their own duties and still have the time to fit in studying. With various languages available including Lithuanian, Polish and Portuguese, staff can also feel more at ease learning in their own language.
A training pilot for engineering students
Engineers like Boris are important for the future of the seafood industry. As seafood businesses increase the mechanisation and automation in their operations these job roles are a key focus. Recognising this, we’re partnering with Grimsby Institute on a pilot project to encourage more engineering students to consider roles in the seafood industry.
The project offers these students free access to our online food hygiene learning materials and exams. They also receive additional support from college based examiners. If the pilot is successful we plan to roll the project out to other colleges in the UK. While the project is currently small in scale, our ultimate goal is to help increase the number of engineering graduates recruited to the industry.
Funding to support for online training courses
Our online food hygiene and health and safety training courses have been welcomed by industry. In fact more than 50% of our remote learners have used these free learning materials. You can find out more about these courses from the links below:
There’s more good news for businesses and individuals interested in online courses. The funding introduced to support exams for these programmes during the Covid-19 pandemic will continue in 2021/22. Later this year we’re going to develop additional training programmes to support the seafood industry to thrive.
Further information
To find out more about our training programmes or register your interest in a course please email onshore@seafish.co.uk.