Anglo-Eastern vs Pritchard-Gordon

[mquinton]

Hi all,

I have currently been offered a place with AE and PGT but I am having difficulty choosing who to train with. AE have offered me the FD route and will train at Fleetwood. My sea phases will be with Hadley Shipping Co. There is no job at the end of the cadetship. With PGT I will be going to South Tyneside College and do the HNC route. There is a job at the end of the cadetship subject to performance.

I was wondering if anyone could help me decide who to go with. Ultimately it is up to me but I'm stuck in the middle between the two.

[EH75]

I'd take the Pritchard Gordon one. Tanker experience and good chance of a job are both major plus points. Also as far as I'm aware Pritchard Gordon spend most of their time kicking about the Caribbean which sounds pretty decent to me. I know a guy that worked for them for a while and I think he had quite a good time.

[condeh]

PG, its almost a no-brainer.

FD vs HNC is a non-issue.

Potential job at the end > no job at the end.

Getting your oil time in whilst tootling round the Caribbean is pretty much the ideal cadetship.

[bobofinga]

PG Tankers seem to be tied up in Barbados when ever I see them ...

[mquinton]

Thanks all. I have been told that PG crew don't care about your training when doing sea time :/

[condeh]

Some will, some wont. You will find apathy all over the industry.

I would suspect you are more likely to meet a Brit on a PG than on Hadleys, so you at least have a chance of sailing with someone who has completed the same cadetship scheme as you.

[EH75]

Yeah I think most of the officers on PG are British so they should at least know the training system.

Tbh even if they aren't interested at least you get the tanker experience and a job when you qualify. You could end up training somewhere where they are not interested and you don't get offered a job or any extra qualifications like a DCE (speaking from experience here.)

[bobofinga]

I don't know about their Officers onboard but all their onshore team is UK based and I know a friend who's a super with them and as far as Im aware they are a good outfit.

[mquinton]

Thank you, swaying towards PGT. They want ?2500 towards tuition fees for phase 3.

[EH75]

Really?! Never heard of any companies asking for money towards tuition. I know certain companies have cut training allowances due to decreases in SMART funding but this is the first I've heard of this sort of thing. ?2.5k is quite a lot of money on a cadet's salary. Personally I'd reconsider the offer based on that but I guess it depends on what your own financial situation is. No way I could've afforded to shell out ?2.5k on tuition when I was a cadet. Although if you can get a student loan to cover it then you'd probably be alright cos it won't take long to pay back once you qualify.

Wonder if this is a sign of things to come?

[mquinton]

Yeah. I can get a student loan. Out of my two offers this one gives me a job.

[bobofinga]

If your in Scotland you'll get it free?

[EH75]

Aye if your Scottish SAAS should cover all your tuition fees. If you're not then I would probably just take the loan to cover it. You'll pay off ?2.5k in your first contract qualified no problem.