Pre-cadetship leaver appointed Third Engineering Officer on board luxury ships ‘is first of many’

Brock leaver Tom Welch has become the college’s first former Pre-cadetship student to start work at sea as a fully qualified officer.

Twenty-year-old Tom, from Fair Oak, recently took up his post as Third Engineering Officer on board the newest Carnival UK cruise ship, Queen Anne.

He also worked recently on Queen Mary 2, which is the only ocean liner that makes regular Atlantic voyages between Southampton and New York.

Tom was one of the first students to study Brockenhurst College’s Pre-cadetship for the Merchant Navy Level 2 Diploma, which was launched in 2019.

By passing his programme, Tom was able to gain a fully sponsored Cadetship with Carnival UK to study at Warsash Maritime School, which is part of Southampton Solent University.

There he completed his Higher National Diploma in Engineering.

He was also shortlisted for the Maritime UK Solent award for Apprentice or Cadet of the Year.

Tom posted on LinkedIn recently: ‘I was the first and the youngest person in my cohort to qualify, and none of the above would have been possible without the exemplary team that has trained me from my Pre-cadetship at Brockenhurst College.’

Brock Head of Curriculum, Lesley Chantler, said: “We are really proud of Tom’s achievements – he was a very dedicated student who always grasped the opportunities available to him.

“His progression is also testament to the quality of Pre-cadetship teaching and learning here at Brock, and I have no doubt that his success story is the first of many.”

Brockenhurst College is one of only a handful of institutions in the UK to provide Pre-cadetship learning opportunities.

It has also introduced a Level 3 Pre-cadetship programme, which was launched in 2023.

In addition, college leaders agreed a deal with Warsash Maritime School in 2023 to formally align its Pre-Cadetship teaching with degree course admission requirements at the well-respected institution.

As a result, both courses were rebranded: Warsash Maritime School Pre-cadetship at Brockenhurst College.

The programmes are based at Brock’s Construction and Marine Technologies Training Centre at Marchwood, which receives support from the South Coast Institute of Technology.