I was very excited to visit Fleetwood Nautical Campus on Friday – part of Blackpool & Fylde College – the winner of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education Excellence.

The nautical college boasts 125 years of experience in maritime training and offers a wide range of courses.

As you can see from the picture (I’m joined by Principal Bev Robinson and Captain Neil Atkinson) the college has amazing bridge and engine simulators that are used by students and corporate companies for training and development. They can simulate everything from Force 9 gales, to engine failure and helicopter rescues – or teach you the simple stuff like sailing a cruise, tanker or cargo ship!

I was amazed to discover just how  many maritime career opportunities there are – with all of the big companies knocking on the doors of the college to take on newly qualified students. Many of the starting salaries are £30k+ so its certainly worth considering.

As well as maritime, Blackpool and Fylde College (BFC) offers a range of specialisms including aerospace, automotive, digital, engineering, energy, health, hospitality, leadership and management and project management.

BFC offers more than 60 degrees specialising in technical and professional vocational, accredited by its long standing partner, Lancaster University, the highest performing university in Lancashire and ranked in the top 10 of universities in the UK

Impressively, 97% of students progress into employment or further/higher education.

This is a fantastic centre of learning and helps young people get off to a flying start.

For more information check out: https://www.blackpool.ac.uk/ and https://fleetwoodnautical.blackpool.ac.uk/maritime – I can’t recommend it highly enough.