Huelin-Renouf Shipping announces bursary award
Huelin-Renouf Shipping has awarded a bursary worth £4,500 over three years to a young Channel Islander whose ambition is to pursue a life at sea.
Ashley Foster is a 19-year-old Alderney student about to embark on a four-year degree course at Plymouth University where he will study Merchant Shipping Marine Studies with the aim of obtaining a BSc (Hons) and Officer of the Watch qualification to become a Merchant Navy deck officer. One year of the course has to be spent at sea and he will be spending that time on board Huelin-Renouf’s two freight ships, MV Huelin Dispatch and MV Huelin Endeavour.
The Huelin-Renouf Shipping Student Bursary was founded in 1995 to mark the 60th anniversary of the company in the Channel Islands. It offers a grant of £1,500 per year for three years to students from the islands who intend studying at university or a further education facility in a maritime, transport-related, logistics or similar discipline.
Ashley said he approached the company earlier this year when they extended their lifeline freight routes between the islands and the UK to Alderney.
‘I wrote to Huelin-Renouf as I had heard many positive things about the company and they had opened up a new route to Alderney. I am most grateful to them for showing confidence in me and my abilities and I look forward to working on board their vessels and gaining valuable experience to help me achieve my ambition to be Merchant Navy deck officer,’ he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Huelin-Renouf Shipping, Keith Renouard, said: ‘We had no hesitation in agreeing to support Ashley. This young man showed great initiative in applying to the Huelin-Renouf Bursary and it is our pleasure in our 75th anniversary year to help him achieve his dream. He has four years of hard work ahead and I am confident that he has the commitment and dedication to succeed.
We are always delighted to support young Channel Islanders who want to follow a career at sea or within the freight, logistics or transport business. We are particularly pleased that the latest recipient comes from Alderney, one of our new ports of call and somewhere we hope to serve for many years to come.’
Ashley was born in Leeds but has lived in Alderney for 18 years. He went to school in Alderney and Guernsey, where he studied sport and fitness at the Guernsey College of Further Education. A keen sportsman, Ashley has represented Alderney at football in The Muratti and boxing. He also enjoys being out in the open air and on the sea. He said he decided to pursue a life on the ocean waves after spending the summer holidays over the past three years working on a passenger boat between the island and France. This summer he is assisting Alderney’s harbour master.
Ashley is not the only young person from Alderney to benefit from the company’s patronage. Since they added the island to the freight route in February this year, they have employed father and son, Martin, and Will Butterworth and islander Alison Crawford. Will is also 19 and a good friend of Ashley. While Mr Butterworth runs the Alderney operation for Huelin-Renouf, Mrs Crawford looks after the office and Will is learning the ropes so he can understudy them both. He will shortly be leaving Alderney for a while so he can gain work experience at the company’s head office in Jersey. In addition, the Alderney team is strengthened by two temporary stevedores to assist when the ships dock.
Ashley said he hopes to work for the company when he qualifies as he explained: ‘It would be nice to get my first working experience in local waters rather than somewhere else in the world.’
Huelin-Renouf Shipping welcomes applications from students in the Channel Islands who want to take up or are already on a course. Students intending to pursue tertiary education in the Channel Islands or via the Open University will also be considered.
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