News Reel
Countess of Wessex at Seafood Training Centre
Countess of Wessex on course for a filleting master class. The Countess of Wessex will be visited the Seafood Training Centre in North Shields on Friday 11 December, to watch in a filleting master class. As part of the Countess’ visit to the region, she joined the Seafood Training Centre’s mobile filleting bus to witness a filleting demonstration by the centre’s senior trainer. The Countess was in North Shields to see first hand the regeneration and redevelopment of the Fish Quay. One of the businesses that has benefitted from the regeneration is the Seafood Training Centre (STC), with its mobile filleting bus helping the training centre provide vital courses anywhere in the UK.
Dennis Osborne, Managing Director of STC, said: “It was a great honour to have the Countess of Wessex visit our centre, to us it was recognition that the hard work and investment of time and funding has been well worth it. The Fish Quay has a special place in the hearts of the locals and the tourists, and I’m happy to see that we are part of the regeneration the area has seen in the last few years.” The STC was set up in 2001 after the fishing industry was suffering from a dramatic shortage in skills. Now the STC is the only centre in the North East that offers Seafish accredited qualifications and certificates. Since opening the STC has become an integral part of the local industry, improving safety and best practice, raising the profile and heritage of the area, as well as helping to leverage additional funding and investment for the region. OneNortheast’s Rural and Environmental Manager, Frances Rowe, said: “The Seafood Training Centre really is at the hub of the fishing industry, both for suppliers and consumers. Its place on the Fish Quay means it can diversify its training, support fishing businesses and their staff, and stimulate demand for the industry’s products and services.” The STC currently serves businesses across the region, focusing on the key ports and processing centres including Amble, Blyth, North Shields, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Redcar, with the mobile filleting bus taking courses on the road across the UK.
The Countess was extremely impressed with the Centre and her visit ran over she had so much to see and was very well informed about the Fishing Industry as a whole. Our Consultant chef Adam hegarty from Bays Bistro in Whitley Bay had a Fish cooking demonstration going on in the Galley for 4 6th form food tech students from Whickham Comp and the Countess was very interested in how the students enjoyed the Centre and what they felt was opf benefit to them most that they couldnt do in school, One of the students explained that it was a great opportunity and lots of fun to cook with a Chef who trained in a Michelin starred Restaurant.
The Countess talked with 3 fishermen taking aStability Course in the Centres large training room, enjoying coffee with them and Dennis Osborne MD & Carole-ann Osborne Director.
Working Links trainees on the New Deal training programme run at the centre showed the Countess about the job search facility used daily to help them find employment and she watched 3 Working Links trainees filleting in the Centres state of the art filleting area.
All in all the day was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all concerned.
