The shipping minister has warned how important the shipping industry is to this country
and training and support is vital if we are to maintain any sort of quality standard within the industry. In the current economic climate Smart support is more important than ever, this year's UK officer trainee intake is quite low being 50%of the level needed just to stand still, and has dropped 15% since 2009. The approach from unions and owners has been used to demonstrate the need for further action which the government has committed to do by looking at ways in which maritime training can benefit from other funding that is available from apprenticeship programs and other government programs.