Meet Ryan Dunkley, Junior Barge Operator at Osprey Group

To mark National Apprenticeship Week (10-16 February), we catch up with Junior Barge Operator Ryan Dunkley to find out how he’s navigating his apprenticeship with Osprey Group…

Ryan Dunkley was always around boats growing up, and now he’s turned his passion into a hands-on career in marine logistics and heavy lifting.

He started out on an apprenticeship with Osprey Group as a Junior Barge Operator last year, having previously attended a college course to prepare him for life in the Royal Navy.

An appealing career

Ryan said: “At the time, I didn’t know you could have a career like this in the marine industry, but when I found out more about Osprey, it really appealed to me. The heavy machinery, the complexity of the operation; it’s just a lot of cool stuff!”

By ‘cool stuff’, Ryan is mainly referring to the fleet of Osprey barges he helps maintain and operate; vessels capable of carrying loads weighing up to nearly 13,000 tonnes.

These barges are the ‘workhorses’ of our Marine Logistics operation, used to deliver cables, build marine platforms and transport loads of all shapes and sizes on inland waterways, around our coast, and far out to sea.

Hands-on approach

As a Junior Barge Operator, Ryan gets hands on with tasks such as refuelling, general maintenance, running ropes and welding hot works.

He’s also acquiring useful qualifications in areas such as driving forklift trucks and operating marine Very High Frequency (VHF) radios.

A world of opportunity

Ryan added: “Once I get my qualifications and some experience, I could go anywhere in the world and work in the marine industry. My apprenticeship is a really exciting opportunity.

“When you see on social media that Osprey has delivered a load for a customer, you can sit back and say ‘that happened on one of my barges’; it’s a really satisfying feeling.”