Trial Trips

[Andy_S]

It's such a shame that shipping companies don't (for whatever reasons) take cadets on a two week trial trip to sea before the start of the cadetship without either side having to pay anything. That would surely cut the dropout rate a lot.

[coll659]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

Iv always known what i wanted to do, however im glad iv done my joinery apprentership first and left it a few years to get some life experiance and maturity, i think i would have struggled to get threw it at 16 but think im at a good age now (20).

as for the size of my class...... so far iv not heard from anyone else going to the shetlands, could be a long 3 years with me and myself to speak to, lol.

[topper--topper]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

The only company I know of which put you on a two week trip to start with is Boston Putford which is part of SSTG, but this is the only company within SSTG that does this.

[dawg]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

This is the sort of feedback this site could give to companies (if they're interested in it). I don't want to get carried away, but it would be nice if there were some exchange of information via this site... perhaps we could get a MNTB bod to act as an intermediary?

e.g.:
Glenys Jackson
Head of Education, Training and Careers
Merchant Navy Training Board
12 Carthusian Street
London EC1M 6EZ
020 7417 2876
078 8555 6636
http://www.mntb.org.uk
http://www.careersatsea.org

[Andy_S]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

I agree with Rip above.

It's only when you go through the process that you come up with these questions and concerns. Juts thinking about it is not enough, it's only once you have applied that it becomes real.

[CharlieDelta]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

The MNTB are aware of our existence, though I'm not sure how often they pop on.

[Beef1992]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

i think its all the red tape and ball hooks that stop this happening think of all the risk assesments they would have to do and people may not be 16 when they go so the captain having to sign responsibility for the cadet. then theres the ships insurance. and what company is going to pay for some one for instance to fly out to the far east to go on a tanker and then theres the question when will it be next in port and have they got the berths. i can see why boston putford do it as there based in uk waters so not to many logistical problems.

[dawg]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

...and yet people can pay for a trip on a cargo ship as a passenger.

http://www.cruisepeople.co.uk/freighters.htm

I'm not so sure it's the red tape that's the issue so much.

It's a question of how serious sponsors are about recruitment, training, and retention of British cadets and officers.
Perhaps people would be less cynical about the training programme if there were signs that sponsors were reaching out to give people a taste.
There are good reasons why a sponsor would and should recruit British & Irish (and Antipodean!) cadets and officers: because they are able to think for themselves; because they are used to high standards of regulation and bureaucracy (rather than endemic and blatant corruption); and because they speak and understand the international lingua franca (i.e. English) in a coherent way.
As far as I can see, the real point of hiring "us", is because they need future superintendents; pilots; maritime managers etc... who satisfy these requirements; and training "us" to work on ships, is really about trying to supply the conveyor belt of future managers, to manage the majority developing world officers and crew, who probably won't get offered those positions, unless they can "be western", and satisfy the prejudices/preferences of clients (RFA & NOC excepted; as they have to satisfy domestic civil servant requirements).

There are (in other countries) specific training ships (not as in TS ships, but industrial style training ships), which could be perhaps run as in industry consortium to give people a taste for it.

None of this is very likely though: it's business (big business); don't get romantic about it.

For PAX they want "hotel/tourism managers" who can "drive" and run a ship; for BOX & OIL they want the industrial managers and brokers and superintendents and suchlike... I think the whole point of it is not so much the tonnage tax, but this ongoing requirement for fresh meat to become managers, who have a reliable understanding of how ships work.

[kayak]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

It's such a shame that shipping companies don't (for whatever reasons) take cadets on a two week trial trip to sea before the start of the cadetship without either side having to pay anything. That would surely cut the dropout rate a lot.

Perhaps nothing will be paid, but it will still cost the company the time spent managing the scheme...

[Andy_S]

Re: Class and Year Sizes?

I understand why they don't do it (red tape, H&S etc etc) I just wish they did.

Could they do a ship visit in port? Would probably require just as much H&S stuff.

Another thing that might be workable would be some kind of meet the crew type thing. Could be something along the lines of getting a group of cadets that have signed up and let them have a morning with a current Captain and C/O who they are likely to be wokring with and let them answer any question and just let cadets see the kind of people who they will be wokring with.

[mikcle60]

Re: Trial Trips

I think it you would be aloud to go on the ship but you would not be aloud to do any work, we take new stewards on for 2 days to see if they like but they just have to stand and watch for insurance puposes.

[Beef1992]

Re: Trial Trips

i know of a few people whos compaines have arranged for them to look around there ships i think it may have been BORG and OOCl and maybe Horrorscope Line but dont hold me to that

[rennells]

Re: Trial Trips

Yeah, I was told at my interview that I can arrange to spend a day on one of Saga's ships while it's at port during the summer holidays before I start at Warsash in September.

[Andy_S]

Re: Trial Trips

i know of a few people whos compaines have arranged for them to look around there ships i think it may have been BORG and OOCl and maybe Horrorscope Line but dont hold me to that

Any idea if OOCL still do that? I would love to spend a day on one of their ships in port before I start with them in Sept.

[CharlieDelta]

Re: Trial Trips

Viking/Holland America do ship visits for people interested in a cadetship I believe.