Sponsors

[endure]

Can someone explain to me what functions "sponsors" perform in the modern merchant navy please? Back in the day if you wanted to be a cadet you got a job directly with a shipping company. Is that no longer possible?

[Inland Pirate]

They pay for you to go off to one of the colleges and do your training, plus living costs over the course, in return for tonnage tax breaks from the government. Some have a clause in the training contracts that make you work them for a period of time after qualifying, others let you go off to whatever you want!

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[endure]

Are they all shipping companies? I know that some of them are but what about places like Clyde Marine? How do they make their money?

[Inland Pirate]

Clyde, Viking, Anglo Eastern and Chiltern are all agencies that handle it on behalf of other companies, and then there's a few scholarship organisations, but I'm not entirely sure how they operate

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[endure]

Cheers Pirate.

[Chiefy]

They offer all the recruitment and administration so a company can do it cheaper and get the tax advantages of the current rules

[Inland Pirate]

Isn't that the same as a 'normal' agency like Clyde then?

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[Midge]

http://www.careersatsea.org explains briefly how it all works. The funding comes from the government via SMarT there are articles on the site explaining how it all works links below. Smart funding has varied in the past few years in 2012 it was reduced and some of the funding available for other tickets withdrawn, then last year funds increased again, and I recently saw that funds were available for other tickets again.
http://www.officercadet.com/content....nnage-Tax-info

http://www.officercadet.com/content....d-Tuition-Fees
Scholarships money comes from various trusts or charity based organisations, Maritime London, MEF, Conway Merchant, and Trinity House all vary in reasons why they exist, but Chiltern manage these their website gives details or careers at sea does.

[Inland Pirate]

It's worth pointing out though that, despite the funds going back up, they're not at the same levels as they were, and companies are expected to make the money go further, by training more people on it

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[Midge]

It's worth pointing out though that, despite the funds going back up, they're not at the same levels as they were, and companies are expected to make the money go further, by training more people on it

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Hence cadets 'pay' seems to have stayed at the same levels since 2009 for some companies RFA of course are paid inline with whatever the rest of the service gets, maybe why they are on such a lot more money, plus they are employed where as cadets sponsored elsewhere are not.

[endure]

Does the move of a lot of companies to foreign flag have anything to do with it?

[Inland Pirate]

It is meant as an incentive to flag vessels in the UK due to the decreasing fleet, though I was told at one interview the government is refusing applications for new companies/ships to join the scheme, despite claiming they want to boost it! Go figure...

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[Midge]

It is meant as an incentive to flag vessels in the UK due to the decreasing fleet, though I was told at one interview the government is refusing applications for new companies/ships to join the scheme, despite claiming they want to boost it! Go figure...

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They have not been reading this then http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/min470.pdf

more in general here
http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mcga07-hom...-stc-smart.htm

[Steve]

RFA of course are paid inline with whatever the rest of the service gets, maybe why they are on such a lot more money,

RFA cadet pay is 20+ years behind the mainstream. Adjusted for inflation, RFA cadet pay is comparable with what most companies paid cadets in the late 80s and early 90s. It just hasn't changed much, whilst most of the others plummeted or completely changed their system.

[GuinnessMan]

Does the move of a lot of companies to foreign flag have anything to do with it?

Don't quote me on this, but I think it might also have something to do with where the company is registered as well? I'm fairly certain the big Z doesn't have many (if any) UK flag vessels....