Met welcomes 3 newly qualified weather observers |28 December 2013

Three trainee staff from the Seychelles National Meteorological Services (SNMS) are back in the country after having successfully completed a three-month Specialized Aeronautical Meteorological Observation Course (Samoc) with credits and distinction prescribed by WMO and IMTR/WMO-RTC in Nairobi, Kenya.

In addition to that they have demonstrated their competence in Aeronautical Meteorological Observations at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The course enhances participant’s skills in the use of aviation specific codes and practices and broadens their knowledge in diagnosing and forecasting aviation specific phenomena.

The Ministry of Environment & Energy and The Permanent Representative of Seychelles with WMO, Wills Agricole, have congratulated the three trainees --  Tarek Nourrice, Hazel Dupres and Egbert Quatre – on their achievement.

The SNMS at the Pointe Larue Airport started taking on new trainee staff since October 2012. A total of six new recruits are planned for 2014, meaning that some more vacant posts will be available. The number of places could increase even further, depending on developments of major projects and other factors.

The three new weather observers, Mr Nourrice, Ms Dupres and Mr Quatre, were recruited between 2012 and 2013. After successfully completing local training and validation exercise at the SNMS, in September 2013 they left for a three-month training course at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Nairobi, Kenya. The training institution in Nairobi is a major branch of the Kenya Meteorological Department and it is generally referred to as the Institute for Meteorological Training and Research (IMTR). IMTR is regarded as a “Centre of Excellence” specialised in training meteorology, hydrology, applied meteorology and related geosciences for the Anglophone Africa.

The three qualified weather observers returned in the country earlier this month.  They will be incorporated in the operations of the SNMS, thus enabling the service to move closer to ISO 9001:2008 certifications. In 2014 they will be groomed for further training to become future meteorologists.