Education

Principal Bent Olesen is always happy to give visitors a tour of the Maritime Center of Greenland in Nuuk, Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik. The center offers a range of courses and educations aimed at employment in the fishing fleet and the merchant navy. In addition, the school offers a wide selection of STCW courses.

The center hosts between 10 and 25 students, mostly men. The number of students varies depending on the size of the current youth generation. All courses are taught in either Danish or Greenlandic, and the facility has a number of useful resources at its disposal, such as one of the world’s largest fishing simulators – a K-sim digital fishing simulator that gives the students an authentic feel for sailing, maneuvering, navigation and docking.

Equality at sea

“In recent years, the number of fishing vessels has shrunk significantly, and instead, the remaining vessels are larger than they used to be. Therefore, the number of people working in the sector is decreasing, so our aim is to make sure that the remaining fishers receive the appropriate training and education, and that the quality of the work environment and safety on board is as strong as possible,” he says. Bent also works to increase equality between Greenlandic and Danish seafarers: “Today, seafarers living in Greenland don’t have the same rights as those living in Denmark. For instance, those who live in Greenland and work on board Greenlandic ships have no right to a formal contract. Greenland’s maritime sector is part of the Danish system, and I think the Danish system is ne-

Uddannelse kan give succes til søs - også i Grønland

Forstander Bent Olesen viser engageret rundt på Grønlands Maritime Center i Nuuk, Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik. Her tilbyder de en række uddannelser indenfor fiskeri- og handelsflåden. Derudover afholder skolen et bredt udvalg af STCW-efteruddannelseskurser.

På stedet er der mellem 10 og 25 elever – flest mænd. Rekrutteringsgrundlaget svinger alt afhængig af, hvor stor den aktuelle ungdomsgeneration er. Når lærerne underviser, er det på dansk eller grønlandsk. De har mange relevante hjælpemidler, ikke mindst en af verdens største fiskerisimulatorer – en K-Sim fiskerisimulator, der giver de studerende den rigtige fornemmelse af at sejle, undvige, navigere og lægge til kaj. glecting its responsibilities,” Bent Olesen adds. His overall vision to improve the maritime sector: “We will make an effort to ensure a modern and healthy Greenlandic fishing industry for future generations. Also, we see great potential in the growing number of modern container ships in the region”, he says.

Programs offered by the Maritime Center of Greenland in Nuuk, Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik

• Ordinary ship’s assistant (OS)

• Able ship’s assistant (AB)

• Ship’s assistant with technical training

• First degree program for commercial fishing with fishing as a sideline

• Trawl-maker

• Officer - Home trade master, first- and third-degree fishing-skipper Read more at www.maritim.gl

Sidestil søfarende

”Antallet af fiskefartøjer er reduceret de senere år, men fartøjerne er større nu end tidligere. Det betyder, at der ikke er så mange besætningsmedlemmer ombord, men vi vil gerne arbejde for, at flere får den rette uddannelse og de rette kurser, så arbejdsmiljøet og sikkerheden er i top, ” siger han. Bent arbejder også for, at danske og grøn- landske søfarende kan sidestilles: ”I dag har søfolk, der bor i Grønland, ikke de samme rettigheder som søfolk bosat i Danmark. Fx har de ikke krav på en ansættelseskontrakt, hvis de arbejder på grønlandske skibe og er bosat i Grønland. Det grønlandske søfartsområde hører under Danmark. Jeg synes, der er tale om at fralægge sig ansvar for en rimelig rettighed,” tilføjer Bent Olesen. Han vil gerne servicere det blå erhverv: ”Vi vil gøre en ihærdig indsats for, at der også i fremtiden findes et veludviklet grønlandsk fiskeri. Derudover ser vi et stort potentiale i den store tilgang af moderne containerskibe,” siger han.

According to principal at the Maritime Center in Nuuk, “seafarers living in Greenland don’t have the same rights as those living in Denmark”.

”I dag har søfolk, der bor i Grønland, ikke de samme rettigheder som søfolk bosat i Danmark,” fortæller Bent Olesen, forstander for Grønlands Maritime Center i Nuuk.

På Grønlands Maritime Center i Nuuk, Imarsiornermik Ilinniarfik, kan du blive:

• Ubefaren skibsassistent

• Befaren skibsassistent

• Skibsassistent for faglærte

• Erhvervsfiskeriets grunduddannelse med fangst som bibeskæftigelse

• Vodbinder

• Officer – kystskipper, sætteskipper, fiskeskipper af 3. grad, fiskeskipper af 1. grad

Se mere på www.maritim.gl

By Hanne Baltzer