A life on the water, working with great people and travelling to exotic destinations – a career in the marine industry is a rewarding experience – but sometimes getting a start is the hardest part in one’s career.
For over 140 years TAFE Queensland has been empowering students to follow their dreams in their chosen fields. As the prominent vocational education and training provider in Queensland, 84% of their students go on to work or further study.
Under the TAFE Queensland umbrella is the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College which is at the forefront of marine training to local, national and international students, providing anything from short courses in safety, preventing fires and radio operations to Certificate courses in maritime operations – ranging in role from near hand, coxswain to skippering vessels up to 35 metres in length.
The training facilities here are top-notch, with modern industry resources from desktop simulators to emulate real-world scenarios in many different types of vessels (and weather conditions), Multi-purpose Emergency Response Training, engineering workshops, an immersion pool and the state of the art Full Mission Bridge Simulator.
Our trainer for the day, Simulator Operations Coordinator, Mick McDonald, tells us that this simulator is as real as it gets in the real world and to have a facility like this is an asset to a student’s learning, “The simulator’s integrated database and hydro-dynamic software allows operators to modify the experience according to student requirements. Digital models of ports from around the world, including major Australian ports, have been pre-programmed into this state-of-the-art system. The software also allows for the digital modelling of any other port not already programmed into the system.”
Learn more about the Short Courses, Certificates and Continued Competency training at the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College!
