The second round of Skills and Training, part of the £100 million UK Seafood Fund, is now open for applications until 21 April 2023 to support the catching, processing, aquaculture and recreational angling sectors.

Between £50,000 to £3 million of grant funding is available to update, equip or build fixed or mobile training facilities.

Round 1 awards

Defra has also awarded funding from the first round of the Skills and Training scheme to seven forward-thinking projects to enhance technical skills and increase knowledge on sustainability, and ensure a high quality of training for existing workers, new entrants and young people into the sector.

Recognising industry concerns over an ageing fishing workforce, with the number of UK fishers having fallen by 1,700 over the past decade, and coinciding with National Apprenticeship Week, the seven projects include pilot courses at London’s famous Billingsgate market covering technical skills such as the delivery, preparation and cooking of seafood; practical qualifications for manning fishing boats in Cornwall; right through to training for school leavers in Scotland going into the seafood industry.

A degree and higher-level skills offer for aspiring managers in the seafood industry will also be developed by University of Lincoln, whilst in Grimsby training courses will be run to attract local people into the seafood sector.

(photo: Andrew Jones)

Further investment

Last month, the Government announced an initial £2 million investment to trial new, greener engines and help create a safer, more sustainable fishing fleet as part of the latest round of the infrastructure scheme.

In December last year, the Government also confirmed a further £30 million will be made available for infrastructure projects across the seafood supply chain. Businesses will have until March 2025 to deliver transformational projects that will upgrade ports, processing and aquaculture facilities so they are able to meet future demand while boosting jobs and economic growth.

Further information and resources:

Details of the beneficiaries of the first round of the Skills and Training scheme can be found here. 

More details on how to apply for the second round of Skills and Training scheme can be found on gov.uk.