As a parent of a cadet, with no seagoing experience I thought I would put a different perspective as I am sure there has been and will be other parents out there just like me.
We have been through the ‘I’ve decided I want to go to sea’ thing which meant a bit of searching to find out what this career entailed, what options there were out there and which to choose. Picking the best A levels to suit but also those which would give the best results in case it didn’t work out was also a factor in the great plan.
We have done the open days, read through all the training companies, and company information, looked at the applications before they were made, and offered our thoughts.
We have waited anxiously to find out how interviews have gone, offered advice when it didn’t go quite as planned and how to make sure it did the next time etc.
Then when we got the excited call to say yes someone wants me (huge relief) and then another which then required a ‘well which do I choose’ happened, all you can do from then on is let them decide and go for it.
Off to college they go, jabbed, forms filled in, uniform received etc etc. Updates on college life and lecturers they good ones, the funny ones, the scary but ok really ones. Then before you know it back home and waiting for the email as to which ship and when wait happens, in our case very quickly.
So as a parent we have looked at this forum gathered very helpful information – thank you! Used it to raise a few thoughts i.e. how are you going to manage your money? Have you thought about what it will be like being out of contact for long periods, etc, etc.
What they are not prepared for and which sadly on this forum there has been posts about is that first ship when things are not going well. From what I have read there is a large drop out rate and that the industry isn’t happy about it, well as it costs so much money time and effort to get them there I’m not surprised, companies are profit driven and it seems that the shipping industry is big on it. Especialy in this economic climate.
So why don’t they take a few simple steps to raise that level of failure? As I see it cadets are excited about their first ship it’s something they have been working towards for many for a few years.
Some will have built up pictures and imagined what it will be like, they will have had stories from other cadets, lecturers but it is never the same as experiencing it yourself.
They have a briefing about the TRB what they need to do at sea, maybe able to speak to another cadet that’s been on the same ship, however crews change and what it may have been like for one on a trip doesn’t mean it will be on this trip.
For those that have a great trip, fantastic glad you did, however the rest of this is maybe not for you.
So it then raises questions for me, how safe is it out there, how happy are they, does anyone actually care, does anyone ask them other than us of course the parents, having invested a lot of time and emotion and nurturing as most parents do , we care, we worry and we hope. We love them we want the best for them and we want them to be happy.
How prepared are cadets really for a trip? What do they do when they get on board and the reality sets in and they can find themselves amongst unfriendly crew, in an environment they don’t know, with questionable food, a dirty cabin, the odd coackroach in the galley, maybe on their own with no other English speaking cadet on board? They discover there are no briefings given, they don’t get taught how to do things but have to find out for themselves?
As time goes on and they adjust and discover that actually the crew aren’t that bad it is a case of zoning into the different cultures and understanding them, the food is ‘different’ but survivable.
Yes, compared to other cadets they are ‘doing’ things though nothing like it was explained at college, equipment they have learnt to use isn’t on this ship and i.e H&S well you tick lots of boxes and should not be concerned that the gauge your trying to find isn’t anywhere and no one knows where it is but the box is ticked anyway. As are numerous other forms as paperwork is very important, but surprisingly contrary to what was learnt at college you don’t worry about the actual things themselves just the boxes… safety equipment like lifeboats, breathing apparatus, tick the boxes do the things work? Well they might let us hope no one needs to use them.
Is this why accidents happen at sea? Is this really the right way cadets should be learning? Who asks the questions? Can training companies and sponsors be really surprised some just give up?
From what I have learnt so far they do not contact their cadets and ask how they are, they don’t ask are you having any problems, is it safe on that ship, do you have any concerns? I think that is a failure if that is not done on a frequent basis. If they did then perhaps cadets would feel supported and listened to, especially so, those on ships by themselves with an all foreign crew. Then maybe they would feel ‘safe’ enough and listened to that they can explain the reality, and get given some advice on how to tackle a problem if they have them. Rather than feel unsupported and wondering just what made them want to do this anyway.
I am under the impression rightly or wrongly that cadets contact companies at the point where they can stand it no longer and ask to be taken off. What a waste!
Yes, I am sure that some companies and probably those that take cadets on in the view that they will select the best and keep them when trained invest more time and want feedback.
How could it be changed so that the shipping industry changes from a tick box culture ( I appreciate not all will be like this) to an industry where all crew are valued, from the most junior to the most senior?
Quite simply I think it’s the current officers , the sponsoring companies and training providers to invest more time in these first phase cadets to invest a bit of time in these early days of these (most often young) people’s careers to ask a few questions.
If cadets have a good experience they are more likely to gain confidence and be better than if they are left feeling isolated and don’t put in the effort they could do. There will always be a few who decide it’s not for them regardless of how good their experience was.
The cadets of today will be the officers in the future and if they learn the right way to treat people, the right and safe way to work through their own experience, surely that’s got to be a good thing.
Learning or not being taught how to do things properly as I see it, leads to more work to get rid of bad habits and working practices and causes frustration that they have to be taught how to do something properly. How many lost lives could be prevented? Should they have to tough it out, man up that much and put up with it? Or should they do something about it, and just who is asking?
I find it very sad that cadets are having to use this forum to ask for help or to raise how unhappy they are, it should never have to happen.
If there are recruitment staff reading this perhaps it’s something that could be looked at, maybe drop an email to your cadets and ask them how they are, that would at least be a start.
I would really value some feedback !
We have been through the ‘I’ve decided I want to go to sea’ thing which meant a bit of searching to find out what this career entailed, what options there were out there and which to choose. Picking the best A levels to suit but also those which would give the best results in case it didn’t work out was also a factor in the great plan.
We have done the open days, read through all the training companies, and company information, looked at the applications before they were made, and offered our thoughts.
We have waited anxiously to find out how interviews have gone, offered advice when it didn’t go quite as planned and how to make sure it did the next time etc.
Then when we got the excited call to say yes someone wants me (huge relief) and then another which then required a ‘well which do I choose’ happened, all you can do from then on is let them decide and go for it.
Off to college they go, jabbed, forms filled in, uniform received etc etc. Updates on college life and lecturers they good ones, the funny ones, the scary but ok really ones. Then before you know it back home and waiting for the email as to which ship and when wait happens, in our case very quickly.
So as a parent we have looked at this forum gathered very helpful information – thank you! Used it to raise a few thoughts i.e. how are you going to manage your money? Have you thought about what it will be like being out of contact for long periods, etc, etc.
What they are not prepared for and which sadly on this forum there has been posts about is that first ship when things are not going well. From what I have read there is a large drop out rate and that the industry isn’t happy about it, well as it costs so much money time and effort to get them there I’m not surprised, companies are profit driven and it seems that the shipping industry is big on it. Especialy in this economic climate.
So why don’t they take a few simple steps to raise that level of failure? As I see it cadets are excited about their first ship it’s something they have been working towards for many for a few years.
Some will have built up pictures and imagined what it will be like, they will have had stories from other cadets, lecturers but it is never the same as experiencing it yourself.
They have a briefing about the TRB what they need to do at sea, maybe able to speak to another cadet that’s been on the same ship, however crews change and what it may have been like for one on a trip doesn’t mean it will be on this trip.
For those that have a great trip, fantastic glad you did, however the rest of this is maybe not for you.
So it then raises questions for me, how safe is it out there, how happy are they, does anyone actually care, does anyone ask them other than us of course the parents, having invested a lot of time and emotion and nurturing as most parents do , we care, we worry and we hope. We love them we want the best for them and we want them to be happy.
How prepared are cadets really for a trip? What do they do when they get on board and the reality sets in and they can find themselves amongst unfriendly crew, in an environment they don’t know, with questionable food, a dirty cabin, the odd coackroach in the galley, maybe on their own with no other English speaking cadet on board? They discover there are no briefings given, they don’t get taught how to do things but have to find out for themselves?
As time goes on and they adjust and discover that actually the crew aren’t that bad it is a case of zoning into the different cultures and understanding them, the food is ‘different’ but survivable.
Yes, compared to other cadets they are ‘doing’ things though nothing like it was explained at college, equipment they have learnt to use isn’t on this ship and i.e H&S well you tick lots of boxes and should not be concerned that the gauge your trying to find isn’t anywhere and no one knows where it is but the box is ticked anyway. As are numerous other forms as paperwork is very important, but surprisingly contrary to what was learnt at college you don’t worry about the actual things themselves just the boxes… safety equipment like lifeboats, breathing apparatus, tick the boxes do the things work? Well they might let us hope no one needs to use them.
Is this why accidents happen at sea? Is this really the right way cadets should be learning? Who asks the questions? Can training companies and sponsors be really surprised some just give up?
From what I have learnt so far they do not contact their cadets and ask how they are, they don’t ask are you having any problems, is it safe on that ship, do you have any concerns? I think that is a failure if that is not done on a frequent basis. If they did then perhaps cadets would feel supported and listened to, especially so, those on ships by themselves with an all foreign crew. Then maybe they would feel ‘safe’ enough and listened to that they can explain the reality, and get given some advice on how to tackle a problem if they have them. Rather than feel unsupported and wondering just what made them want to do this anyway.
I am under the impression rightly or wrongly that cadets contact companies at the point where they can stand it no longer and ask to be taken off. What a waste!
Yes, I am sure that some companies and probably those that take cadets on in the view that they will select the best and keep them when trained invest more time and want feedback.
How could it be changed so that the shipping industry changes from a tick box culture ( I appreciate not all will be like this) to an industry where all crew are valued, from the most junior to the most senior?
Quite simply I think it’s the current officers , the sponsoring companies and training providers to invest more time in these first phase cadets to invest a bit of time in these early days of these (most often young) people’s careers to ask a few questions.
If cadets have a good experience they are more likely to gain confidence and be better than if they are left feeling isolated and don’t put in the effort they could do. There will always be a few who decide it’s not for them regardless of how good their experience was.
The cadets of today will be the officers in the future and if they learn the right way to treat people, the right and safe way to work through their own experience, surely that’s got to be a good thing.
Learning or not being taught how to do things properly as I see it, leads to more work to get rid of bad habits and working practices and causes frustration that they have to be taught how to do something properly. How many lost lives could be prevented? Should they have to tough it out, man up that much and put up with it? Or should they do something about it, and just who is asking?
I find it very sad that cadets are having to use this forum to ask for help or to raise how unhappy they are, it should never have to happen.
If there are recruitment staff reading this perhaps it’s something that could be looked at, maybe drop an email to your cadets and ask them how they are, that would at least be a start.
I would really value some feedback !
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