22nd September 2016 - the Scottish Seafood Training NetworK receives donation of equipment

The Scottish Seafood Association donated an AFOS Micro Kiln to the Network on a two year long free loan. The Micro Kiln can be used to deliver training throughout Scotland in fish smoking techniques.

The Sea Fish Industry Authority also donated equipment to the Network. Ten portable fish filleting training tables were donated so that knife skills training can be delivered across Scotland.

Seen above are Michael Bates of the SSA, Lee Cooper of Seafish and the Seafood Training Academy and Ian Land of Seafish. Photo taken by Helen Muir, Chairman of the Network and Group HR Director for Dawnfresh.

Press coverage included this Press and Journal Article from the 23rd September 2016.

Seafish Press Release

New equipment will help scale up training

Equipment presented by Seafish and the Scottish Seafood Association today (Thusday 22 September) at Peterhead Fishdocks to the Scottish Seafood Training Network will mean specialist skills will be more readily available in Scotland.

The Scottish Seafood Training Network was launched in 2015 to promote training in the Scottish fish and shellfish industry. The kit being donated by Seafish and the Scottish Seafood Association includes an AFOS microkiln and ten portable fish fileting benches.

The new microkiln means fish and shellfish smoking courses will be available in Scotland for the first time through the Scottish Seafood Training Network. Similar equipment used by the Seafood Training Network in Grimsby has attracted course delegates from Australia and the USA to learn proper smoking techniques.

Knife skills are vital to the long term sustainability of Scottish seafood industry. With the availability of portable fish fileting benches, the Scottish Seafood Network will be able to deliver knife skills and filleting courses wherever they are needed.

Chair of the Scottish Seafood Training Network, Helen Muir, Michael Bates from the Scottish Seafood Association, Ian Land from Seafish and Lee Cooper from the Seafood Training Academy are organising the handover.

Chair of the Scottish Seafood Training Network, Helen Muir, said: “On behalf of the Scottish Seafood Training Network, I would like to thank Seafish and the Scottish Seafood Association for donating this equipment. It will help us increase the knowledge base of the fish and shellfish industry in Scotland and prepare it for the future.”

Senior Partner for the Seafood Training Academy, Lee Cooper, said: “businesses in Scotland and elsewhere have been telling us that smoking and knife skills courses are needed in Scotland. This new equipment will give us the capacity to run training courses in Grampian and elsewhere in Scotland.

The Scottish Seafood Training Network is a partnership of training providers, employers, the Scottish Seafood Association, Seafood Scotland, Seafish and the Seafood Training Academy.