SKILLS
6 | City of Glasgow College
What can you tell us about the
relationship between City of Glasgow
College and Carnival UK?
Carnival Corporation & plc is the
world's largest travel leisure
company, with a combined fleet of
over 100 vessels across ten cruise
line brands, including P&O Cruises
and Cunard Line in the United
Kingdom. And Carnival UK has
been using City of Glasgow College
as one of the main training centres
for its Deck and Technical Officer
Cadetship programmes for the past
three years.
The college is, importantly, led
by real-life industry experience and
expertise. Many of the faculty have had
their own extensive careers at sea. The
college has state-of-the-art equipment,
which is updated on a regular basis to
mirror what deck and technical officers
will be using when they do start to work
on the water.
What would you say are the main
skills that Carnival UK looks for in its
engineers and officers?
In addition to the technical expertise
which would obviously underpin any
seafaring profession, we are looking
for candidates with the right people
skills. The science behind seafaring is
a huge part of it, of course, but in the
leisure industry, on cruise ships such
as ours, it's important to remember
that the boat is carrying more than just
your colleagues. We want candidates
that can not only navigate the ship, but
who can confidently interact with the
customers onboard.
Kristy Dawson,
manager of fleet
and technical cadets
at Carnival UK,
discusses the
importance of the
human element
of a career at sea
A partnership
based on
people
Simulators at City of Glasgow
College create situations and scenarios
to challenge and engage students; and
as well as the impressive technology
which makes this highly effective
style of teaching possible, there are
members of staff to role-play
alongside it.
City of Glasgow College offers an
immersive approach to maritime
education. The classroom is brought
to life and theory is put into practice,
as students learn not only how to
perform under pressure, but how to
manage their reactions and emotions
in the presence of the general public.
What sets City of Glasgow College
aside from other nautical or maritime
training centres?
City of Glasgow College not only
offers a people-first approach in its
teaching, but even, we have noticed,
in how it treats the students while
they are completing their course. The
college's hands-on pastoral care is
something that we've really come to
value over the past three years. In some
cases, when we've sent students up to
train in Scotland, from as far away as
Southampton, it is their first extended
period of time away from home. This
can be very daunting, particularly for
younger students.
The college is very supportive and
helpful in their adjustment to their
independence. That City of Glasgow
College has the foresight to prepare
students for this is one of the reasons
why the candidates it produces continue
to be so strong-willed and resilient.
Throughout our relationship with
City of Glasgow College, I have always
felt confident that I could talk to them
and be listened. There's a clear culture
around continuous improvement and
one that encourages feedback and
insight from industry partners such
as ourselves. The college's willingness
to engage with its partners regularly
is how it ensures that it is producing
cadets, officers and engineers with
the skills they need for a long and
successful career at sea.