BIM National Fisheries and Diving College offers internationally accredited qualifications for commercial divers working in the aquaculture industry Brian Murphy, Director of BIM Diver Training Programmes
B
ord Iascaigh Mhara provides a broad range of services and supports to Ireland’s Seafood Industry. In addition, two fulltime colleges, Greencastle and Castletownbere, deliver specialised training programmes. Courses include Deck Hand, Navigation, Fire Fighting, Engineering and now Commercial Diver Training at the National Fisheries and Diving College in Castletownbere, Co. Cork. Divers are an essential element of the workforce on any fish farm and provide vital services to other forms of aquaculture. The role of the diver is varied and depends on the stage of the fish production cycle. Typically, this includes site and mooring inspections, seabed sampling and surveys, net inspection and repairs, attachment or removal of net weights, removal of mortalities from cages and recovery of items from the seabed. The bigger the site, the more work there is for divers and the more divers are needed to get the job done. The aquaculture industry is now the largest employer of divers in Ireland. Many are full-time employees, and some are contract divers who provide services to fish farms during busy periods and then work in other areas of the diving industry for the rest of the year.
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Dive team complete recovery of work piece
QQI Level 6 BIM ran commercial diving programmes from 1990 to 2000 and trained many divers who have worked on farms. With no courses offered between 2000 and 2018, a shortage of divers became apparent as some retired or moved to different roles within the industry. So, based on industry demand, BIM revisited their diver training programmes and established a new set of courses. Firstly, two new awards had to be developed: a QQI Level 6 Commercial Scuba and a QQI Level 6 Surface Supplied Diver (Inshore) to thirty (30) meters.
Awards were developed with Quality Qualifications Ireland (QQI) to meet current requirements for diver training based on Health and Safety Executive (UK), International Diving Schools Association (IDSA) & European Diving Technology Committee (EDTC) standards to ensure a world-class standard for diver training schools in Ireland. BIM then had to develop its courses to meet these new award standards. Courses are delivered by the National Fisheries and Diving College in Castletownbere and approved by QQI and by the HSE (UK) to ensure divers
trained in Ireland receive internationally recognised certifications. The National Fisheries and Diving College in Castletownbere is well placed to deliver these courses with a waterfront school and direct access to a sheltered body of water for the safe delivery of all elements of the course. Bere Island provides sheltered waters even in the most challenging weather conditions enabling divers to dive safely almost every day. BIM has invested in a complete diver training system that includes
Aquaculture & Seafood Ireland
