The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Bahama Shipyard is anticipating the arrival of a new floating dock later this year, as part of a multi-million-dollar expansion project.

Chris Earl, the new CEO, said the immediate focus is to get the dock ready for the arrival of its first ship, which is scheduled for repair at the facility in January 2026.

To develop more skilled Bahamians, the shipyard has overhauled its apprenticeship programme and has partnered with a UK training institution to provide training.

On Thursday, the company sent off 20 young apprentices for intensive training in Liverpool.

Mr Earl said the apprentices have been split into four main trades in the shipyard.

“They will get hands-on training from a world-renowned school, and they will bring that training to the shipyard where they will start working with employees to refine those skills.”

On completion of the four-year programme, Mr Earl said the apprentices will be fully qualified in their trade.

Under the new programme, some 16 Bahamians were among the first group of apprentices that were sent off last year for training in the UK.

The new CEO, a former Canadian Naval veteran, joined the shipyard in early May.

His appointment comes at an exciting time when the shipyard is undergoing a significant investment over the coming years, with the acquisition of two new floating docks.

Mr Earl, who has extensive experience in shipyard operations, was initially employed at a Canadian shipyard, where he ran all of the overhaul programs for the company out of Victoria. Before that, he was enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy, where he ran a shipyard.

Elvardo Kemp, training manager at the shipyard, said the shipyard’s apprenticeship programme has been expanded.

“It is a pretty new programme. Last year, we took 16 young individuals to Liverpool. At that time, we only focused on two trades: pipefitting and mechanical fitting,” he said.

“This year, we decided to expand the program. We have 20 apprentices who we divided across four different trades: welding, fabrication, mechanical engineering, and pipefitting,” he said.

The training period has also been extended to allow for more comprehensive instruction and additional qualifications, he added.

“The first group went for three months, but this group will be gone for four and a half months. We wanted to enhance the programme from last year, so they will also get an additional qualification at the end of their four-year training,” he explained.

Mr Kemp said the programme is a partnership between the Grand Bahama Shipyard, a trade school in the UK, and the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

“Once they have completed the four-year program, we offer them a job,” he said.

Mr Kemp emphasised that the long-term vision is to replace foreign workers with skilled Bahamians. “When you look four years from now, these 20 apprentices, that means 20 expats that will no longer have a position to come to The Bahamas,” he explained.

He noted that the first cohort is now in their second year and has already begun applying their training in the workforce.

“They are in year two and are generated out into the workforce, working with local tradesmen developing their crafts. Once successfully completed, we will offer them a permanent job at the shipyard.”

Mr Kemp said significant research was done before launching the programme to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability.

“We wanted to find a robust programme and we wanted something that is working, and I travelled to the UK several times looking at the institutions,”

Krispin Bartlett and Michael Clark expressed excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to travel to the UK for training.

Mr Bartlett, who will be specialising in welding, was chosen from among 400 applicants.

“I feel wonderful to be selected from among 475 applicants, and to be selected top 20 is wonderful. I look forward to not only going to college to learn something new, but also experiencing different lifestyles and cultures,” he said.

Michael Clark, who is interested in mechanical fitting, said they underwent 12 weeks of training, initially learning the four basic trades in the shipyard.

“I feel it is an awesome opportunity to go abroad and get training so we able to perform efficiently at the shipyard,” he said.