Ferry firm DFDS in call for 'as many apprentices as want to join'
'Fantastic opportunity'
DFDS said that more than 100 former Condor staff had joined its ranks since it took over, but now it was looking to add a new crop of ferry workers to the team.At a careers event on board the Tarifa Jet in Elizabeth Harbour, the person in charge of the recruitment drive, Gemma Griffin, said it was a "fantastic opportunity" for young people.She said: "The sky's the limit when you're qualified because, the more experience that you get at sea, then the longer your career journey can be."You could become a future captain or a future chief engineer. So, it really is cradle-to-grave stuff here that we're talking about".DFDS said it was looking to recruit deck apprentices, engine apprentices, and also had roles available on the commercial side too.
Chris Parker, Jersey route director for DFDS, said apprentices would benefit from the knowledge and skills held by former Condor staff who had remained in the industry.He said: "We have a lot of ex-Condor employees and I'm really pleased that they've stayed in the ferry industry. "That was a real concern because these are people with a huge amount of experience and skills, which if the ferry industry loses them, it's very difficult to replace".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
10 hours ago
- ITV News
Jersey visitor numbers plummet compared to 2024 as business group raises concerns
New figures have revealed a significant drop in Jersey visitor numbers compared with 2024. The latest statistics from Visit Jersey show a 24% decrease in visitors across May, with 53,000 people travelling to the island - 17,000 fewer than during the same period last year. This is mainly down to fewer overnight stays, although there were also 2,400 fewer day trips. From January to May, 71,500 people came to Jersey for leisure, almost a quarter down on 2024. However, there was more business travel with an extra 3,700 trips to Jersey. Tim Crowley from the Jersey Chamber of Commerce says the overall trend is worrying. He explains: "It is very concerning, and the concern now is that when we get into the winter, businesses rely on cash to get them through. "All the markets are down, I know Ireland is down 10%, so we are seeing similarities but we are down more, and we have to ask ourselves why and what we can do about it." Separate data from the Ports of Jersey also revealed a decline in the number of passengers travelling from Saint Malo. In April, the number of passengers from the French city was 24% lower compared to the previous year. In May, the decline was even more pronounced with a nearly 50% drop from 20,637 visitors in 2024, against 11,142 this year. Speaking to ITV News, Visit Jersey points to data showing the average length of stay increasing in the island, as well as surveys showing people are more likely to recommend Jersey as a destination. Operator DFDS took over the island's ferry service at the end of March 2025 and Chris Parker, Jersey Route Director, says: "DFDS remains committed to providing high-quality travel to Jersey, focusing on increasing visitors to the island and their customer experience. "Since we launched our services in March, we have introduced day trips between Jersey and St Malo, providing more opportunities for islanders and visitors alike to explore and enjoy travel across the Channel. "We have also launched our new inter-island service, strengthening Jersey's connection to Guernsey and ensuring there are convenient ways to travel between the two islands. "We are working closely with Visit Jersey and other partners to promote Jersey as a destination; we have a joint campaign with Visit Jersey, which will run through the summer. "We are also introducing new offers, including short break fares, which we are launching today."
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
ADHD fundraiser Bare Wills' plea after losing £2k in admin error
An islander who took on a three-week fundraising challenge for ADHD Jersey is asking people to re-send their donations, after an administrative error refunded all the Crawford, who calls himself 'Bare Wills', slept outside for 21 days in May for the charity, raising more than £2, was recovering on holiday when he received news that his supporters had been refunded their donation amount because he had forgotten to link his bank details to the fundraising Jersey was intending to use the money to fund its teenage wellbeing programme, but have so far only been able to retrieve £650, due to people re-sending their donations. Mr Crawford said the error made is typical of how ADHD can present itself."It's just the diversity of my ADHD, I've got two Facebooks, two Instagrams, two emails – I just don't know how I missed it," he said."We have had some funds given back but I feel like people haven't seen it come back into their accounts, so don't know about what has happened." 'We are down to bare bones' Rachel Boss, chief executive of ADHD Jersey, said retrieving the money back is vital for the charity."This could have happened to any one of us," she said of the mistake. "We've got nearly £700 back so far. If we do get the rest of it back that would be absolutely phenomenal."We are self-funded at the moment, so it's people like Will doing fundraisers like this who are keeping things going - and we are down to bare bones at the moment."Any funding that we get goes directly back to the people with ADHD Jersey. We're launching a teenage wellbeing programme and we need to continue running our STEPS programme."Mr Crawford has created a new fundraising page for the donations.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Final cost of Manx ferry terminal in Liverpool remains uncertain
The final cost of the Isle of Man's ferry terminal in Liverpool remains uncertain more than a year after the facility was opened, the Treasury minister has Allinson said there remained "a number of issues to resolve" regarding the figure for the Manx government-funded development at the Princes Half Tide Dock.A raft of delays saw the cost of the project almost double from £38m to £70.6m, but a bid to allocate an additional £10m in contingency funding was withdrawn in November said the matter was "currently being handled by the legal advisers" who said the amount was "subject to legal privilege". He told Tynwald members while the Department of Infrastructure "was making progress on the final cost", which meant the Treasury "cannot be currently certain of the exact final cost".The terminal was opened to passengers travelling on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessels in July last year, five years after work on the project began. 'Not sufficient' Julie Edge MHK raised the issue of contingency funding on capital projects being inadequate, while Tim Glover MHK wanted to know the timescale for such a vote, highlighting that a general election was looming in September conceded that "in retrospect" the contingency funding for the terminal "was not sufficient". As a result the contingency amount for further large projects had been reviewed by the Treasury and had been increased, he the figure was finalised he said he would "bring the scheme to Tynwald for a supplementary vote", which he said he hoped would happen before the end of the current administration. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
