The Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association (SSA) appointed David McGinley, Business Development Director Babcock as President and Lynn Tomkins, UK Operations Director, Sector Skills Council Semta as Vice President.
In acknowledging their appointments David said: “ I am honoured to have been appointed the President of the Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association. I look forward to further strengthening and developing the association and in making SSA the leading marine association. In particular, I look forward to representing the UK Marine Industry, members of SSA and the wider maritime industry who play a key part in delivering growth and ensuring that the UK marine industry plays a major role internationally. Whether it is defence contracts such as the future Global Combat Ship, shipbuilding opportunities in countries including Brazil and Russia, or emerging markets like renewable energy, the UK and especially SSA companies are well placed to meet industry demand .”
Lynn Tomkins said: “ I am delighted to be the new Vice-President for the SSA and the first woman to take this position. I am very much looking forward to supporting the newly announced President David McGinley, Business Development Director of Babcock to represent the shipbuilding, ship repair industry to grow through a skilled workforce. Semta is delighted that skills are recognised as an essential ingredient to underpin the ambitions for growth outlined in the Marine Industry Growth Strategy (MIGS). We work with a number of key trade associations across the UK’s engineering and manufacturing sectors and we recognise the importance of the SSA as a strong action orientated trade association .”
David began his career in 1971 joining the Royal Navy; going on to serve in HM Ships Tiger, Abdiel, Middleton, Amazon and York, as well as periods of service in the Falkland Islands and the Gulf. David left the Royal Navy in 1995, having attained the rank of Warrant Officer.
In June 1995 he joined Turner Diesel Ltd as the General Manager Power Stations Operations and Maintenance, developing power generation contracts in Columbia, Malaysia and Africa, as well as overseeing a new build 26 MW power plant in New Delhi.
In 1999 he joined Semple Cochrane as Divisional Director Marine Services, which involved managing five-ship repair and dry-docking facilities, along with several other attached businesses; stretching from Penzance to Aberdeen.
In 2003 David joined BNS which is now Babcock at Faslane as Director – Strategic Development. He took up his current role as Business Development Director in October 2004.
Lynn has worked with the marine sector and SSA for over 10 years and led the development of the sector skills agreement establishing the UK Marine Sector Strategy Group which leads the knowledge and skills work stream of the UK Marine Industry Leadership Council (MILC).
In her role Lynn is responsible for employer relationships at a sectoral and regional level with the aim of increasing employer’s skills ambition to stay competitive. She strives to ensure the skills priorities and needs of employers in the Aerospace, Automotive, Bioscience, Electronics, Marine, Metals, Mechanical and Electrical sectors are met locally, regionally, nationally and across the UK.
Lynn has developed a successful Employer Engagement Strategy to ensure engagement with the sector which comprises 74,500 employers and 2 Million employees and negotiated and agreed the first Sector Compact signed by the Secretary of State and agreed protocols with the Department for Innovation Universities and Schools, the Learning and Skills Council and the Regional Development Agencies.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, November 17, 2011; Image: SSA