The public private partnership model on which the National Maritime College of Ireland was conceived and delivered

Ten years ago, maritime education and training in Ireland was seriously under-resourced. Cork Institute of Technology, as the designated national centre for maritime education and training, was responsible for seafarer training for the Merchant Marine. The Irish Naval Service, in addition to its military obligations, had an ongoing need to provide similar training for its personnel. In discharging their responsibilities each of those entities aimed to implement a range of multi-disciplinary training programmes designed to produce skilled seafarers, qualified to international standards. But neither organisation had the requisite scale of technical facilities or equipment needed to satisfy the growing aspirations under STCW 95. The solution was found in a partnership agreement between Cork Institute of Technology and the Naval Service, to establish a national centre for the conduct of common maritime training. The Irish Government agreed and decided that the new National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), should be funded and managed under a Public Private Partnership model.