SMarT Funding and Tuition Fees

Mike Penning MP, minister for shipping, announced today that government support for maritime training (SMarT) is to be retained until at least 2015, with an annual budget of £12m. This news comes after a period of uncertainty and demonstrates a commitment on the government's part to the ongoing training of merchant seafarers.
SMarT funding covers up to 40% of the cost of training merchant navy cadets, and its continuation is vital to the maritime training sector. Industry bodies including the Chamber of Shipping (who oversee the activities of the Merchant Navy Training Board) and seafarers' union Nautilus welcomed the news.

While SMarT will continue with a £12m budget, there is still some uncertainty as to how the imminent rise in tuition fees for new students on undergraduate courses will affect prospective cadets. Government support for undergraduate tuition is to be discontinued, with universities allowed to charge up to a £9,000 per year cap. Since cadet training programmes are based around undergraduate qualifications such as HNC/HNDs and Foundation Degrees, it is likely that these rises will increase the overall cost of cadet training.

We will continue to monitor the situation and will post any new information as it's received.