Grimsby Institute has utilised its UK Seafood School to deliver its inaugural Skills Bootcamp Fish Filleting course. This 8 day programme, spread over a number of weeks, is designed for fish processing employees (and others working within the seafood industry) who are seeking to upskill themselves, or to equip complete learners with the basic knowledge, skills and essential qualifications to enable them to enter the workforce more easily. The cost of the course ranges from completely free for new entrant learners to highly subsidised for existing SME workforce members
The first half of this programme covers accredited food safety and HACCP training courses delivered by approved trainers and the opportunity to gain relevant nationally-recognised certification. The second half of the programme focuses on practical knife skills and supporting knowledge covering a range of typical round fish, flatfish and oily fish species led by Master Fishmonger and NFF Council member Paul Neve.
The final day includes a team knowledge quiz which provides a recap of the subject matter topics covered throughout the whole course, together with a personal skills test which assesses the individuals’ ability to cut and display a selection of fish species using a range of different techniques safely, hygienically and accurately whilst producing the minimum of waste material.
The participants included members of the fish retail and wholesale sectors as well as Matt, an inshore fisherman from Skegness, who came on the course specifically to learn fish filleting techniques which would enable him to expand his business and marketing options by allowing him to sell ready-filleted fish directly to local outlets instead of sending his landed catches to auction. He was particularly pleased to learn how to block fillet because this technique can be applied to a wide range of small round fish which predominate in his fishery.
Expressions of interest in further fish-related training courses are invited and more details about this particular programme are available from https://ukseafood.co.uk/fish-filleting-bootcamp/
