Inspiration can come in many forms, but nothing beats a personal recommendation. Last week a number of Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) staff members shared their personal stories to inspire students at Jack Hayward High School to consider careers in Ship Repair.

The Jack Hayward students have been participating in a series of entrepreneurial workshops which featured a variety of speakers from the industrial community. Various persons from the Shipyard addressed the students including Katherine Smith, Director of Human Resources and Community Relations, Don Forbes, Training Manager, Justan Campbell, Junior Project Planner and some of the 2014 first year apprentices.

Miles Wilkinson, who was recently promoted to Cruise Project Development Manager is a graduate of Jack Hayward High School (JHHS) and entered the Shipyard as an apprentice. During the workshop, Wilkinson shared his personal story and how it led to opportunities at the Shipyard. “The most important message conveyed to these young minds, was not to focus on the rewards or financial benefits at this stage of their lives, but to dedicate their energies to self-development and to pursue their ambitions with tenacity and persistence. The money will come eventually,” said Wilkinson. “The reality is that there is no recipe for success, but for those that want to be successful they should be ready when opportunity knocks.”

Justan Campbell, Junior Project Planner also shared his personal journey with the students including the pitfalls he experienced to show them that even students who aren’t the best in school can still have a promising future.

“I found great delight to have the opportunity to go and speak to the students in the technical program at JHHS,” said Campbell. “For the first time, I was able to publicly speak to others who may have fell short in some areas of their life and uplift those who may have thought that high school was the end of the road for them. I found it necessary to share my experiences which helped me to be the positive persons I am today.”

One of the main opportunities at the Shipyard for students graduating from high school is their apprenticeship programme, which has been running for ten years. The apprenticeship programme is a four-year training programme which incorporates training at the shipyard along with a structured academic programme from BTVI education.

In addition to the apprenticeship programme, the Shipyard offers scholarships for promising trainees at the yard. The Human Resources and Community Relations Team at the Grand Bahama Shipyard will continue to expose the career opportunities available at the Shipyard to students throughout the community.

About GB Shipyard

Located on Grand Bahama Island in the Freeport Maritime Centre, 73 miles east of Florida, Grand Bahama Shipyard is one of the biggest ship repair companies in the region. With 3 floating docks that feature all the capabilities and resources for dry-docking, repairs, upgrades and conversions of ships, as well as the ability to fabricate marine structures. GB Shipyard is now also ready to take on fabrication projects, especially for offshore industry. Learn more at www.gbshipyard.com