Bit of advice re endorsements & careers??

[martini]

OK so I've got:
an advanced PB pre '05 course completion cert,
A YM theory cert
and hopefully in the future a YM offshore practical cert.

My next planned steps are to get a commercial endorsement for the advanced powerboat and if/when I get the YM offshore, an endorsement for that too.

So I now need to do first aid and sea survival etc to get the endorsement. But reading up on the RYA site has thrown up a few questions.

Can I use the STCW basics to endorse my powerboat cert.? If so, is there any point, as opposed to doing the RYA first aid and sea survival? Which of the 2 options am I better off with?

I guess the first question you'll ask is what do I want to do with it? Trouble is I don't really know, the type of work I want to do is probably most influenced by what type of work I can get.

I suppose what I'm trying to ask is, will having the STCW endorsement open more doors and give me more options than the RYA endorsement?

According to the RYA, the STCW tickets are only required if you want to work overseas but maybe it's a qualification that UK companies look for as well?

In an ideal world I would get a job locally (Jersey) either crewing on the Jersey Harbours vessels (pilot boat, tug etc) or charter skippering a mobo. Trouble is there's such a limited job market here, I may well have to look further afield but that's kind of the areas I'd like to get into. There's probably more RYA instructors over here than there are students so I can't see me going down that career path.

Apologies for repeatedly harping on about he same old stuff but the whole working at sea qualifications thing is bl**dy complicated to the uninitiated

Thanks for your help

[biffer]

Best to look at what type of job you want and see what they want you to have. Frankly every job I've done that needed you to jump through hoops. I've just said try me out if you're not happy I'll go. If you are happy I want a contract. Slightly more difficult when it's overseas. But the companies come over here shopping for good guys at the end of the day you could be the best guy in the world on paper. But if you're a crash test dummy you still won't get far. I know I'd rather have a dead handy bloke who knew what he was doing than someone who cries when it gets tough. Sadly I'm in the minority I think

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[martini]

Originally Posted by biffer

Best to look at what type of job you want and see what they want you to have.

I don't even know where to start to be honest.

Originally Posted by biffer

at the end of the day you could be the best guy in the world on paper. But if you're a crash test dummy you still won't get far. I know I'd rather have a dead handy bloke who knew what he was doing than someone who cries when it gets tough. Sadly I'm in the minority I think

Trouble is if you walk into an interview room, how do you prove you're any good? Unless you've built a good reputation over a period of years, you can't. Next best thing? Have a bunch of tickets in your hand I guess. If 2 random unknown guys go for a job, one with a Yachtmaster ticket and the other without, the one without is probably going to get filed in the bin before the interview stage.

It's the same in any industry though, I've got welding quals coming out of my ears but no ones ever asked to see them. They just chuck 2 bits of metal at you and tell you to stick them together. Either you can or you can't.

[biffer]

Well it's not strictly true. You do know where to start. We can assume it will be in the marine trade and probaly not on the island. Now are we talking frabrication. Driving. Engineering. Offshore. Are you looking at relocating. Have to laugh had this conversation with my nipper about 20 years ago

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[wavelength]

STCW tickets sadly. The industry wants those letters, even though the course may have been crap and run by a muppet. 4 days of medical first aid onboard ship...and we would have taught more, and more relevant stuff, in a one day rya course. Boy did we drink some tea though! Just a prob with the particular venue though-others did allegedly the same course elsewhere and are now ready to do major surgery Gonna have DNR tatooed on me if they crew on my boat!

[Alan Priddy]

My personal view on the RYA is that they have lost the plot and do everything for money abandoning all sense of reality or responsibility to powerboat owners. I have just upgraded my YM Ocean to YM Ocean Power with over 300,000 logged miles and they are still insisting that we all have full "RYA Racing Licence" costing a fortune ( not to mention everyone onboard the boat)to take Goodheart around the world. They are even insisting that we have to pass a dunk test because it has got a cabin. Its completly mad and we are refusing to do it. I have every RYA MCA qualification going and they want me to prove that I can drive a poxy race boat around in circles 1/2 mile off the shore. Tossers!!! Wheres the RPBA (Royal Power boat Association?) Alan P

[martini]

Originally Posted by biffer

Well it's not strictly true. You do know where to start. We can assume it will be in the marine trade and probaly not on the island. Now are we talking frabrication. Driving. Engineering. Offshore. Are you looking at relocating. Have to laugh had this conversation with my nipper about 20 years ago

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I'm trying to get away from the metal trades but if I need to use those skills and work on the deck of a working vessel, salvage, buoy maintenance etc then so be it. Don't really want to be offshore, I'd rather have a life if possible. I don't want to move from jersey either but needs must, can't see a way round it. Hopefully something will come up locally one day and I'll have the skills and experience to be in the running for it.

I wouldn't mind moving to the south or south west coast too much, I can quite see myself cruising up and down the Solent in a 40' Nelson yeh I know, I can dream though!

Alan, I don't blame you for ranting, being in your situation must be extremely frustrating. But why do you need any quals if it's a private vessel with no fee paying passengers?

[biffer]

They're priceless Alan. So they want you to jump through hoops for the first and the last 12 miles of your round the world attempt or am I getting that wrong

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[biffer]

Martini. Have a word with trinity house. I'll see if I can dig up a name for ya

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[Anchorhandler]

Matt, go the STCW route as further down the line if you chose to take your sea going career further and enter the commercial sector then you will undoubtable be confronted by an employer who will require STCW fire fighting, Sea survival, first aid and that other load of boll&@#s personal hygene and anti-anti social behaviour (or whatever its called these days).

STCW stands for Standards for Training and Certification of Watchkeepers so once you start applying for commercial jobs where your going to be in charge of a watch or any kind of watchkeeping for that matter, your gonna want those certificates under your belt to even get a looking by any employer.

To give you an idea, we employ about 24 AB's (able bodied seemen) who, under their job description must be competent boat handlers as they have to 'drive' the smaller tugs based at the refinery. These tugs are all around the 40 tonne Dwt mark, 900ish HP and have 9-12 tonne bollard pull. they are litterally captains of their own little ships as they assume responsibility for the operation and upkeep of each small tug. Now when we look to recruit AB's we stipulate a minimum of PB 2 with a commercial endorsement BUT I/we will only look at CV's from people holding the aforementioned STCW tickets.

If you pop over to Cowes next week, give me call and i will arrange for one of our launches to pick you up and bring you over for a look around/chat and you will see first hand what kind of job you can get with the right ticket......(the AB's working for us start on a basic salary of 32K per annum but only work 6months of the year as they do 2 weeks on followed by 2weeks holiday) We also have a regular training program
where we send them to college to obtain their officer of the watch ticket (unlimited). Once they have completed the conversion program they are re-employd as 2nd officers. From there they can choose to go all the way through the system finishing up with qualifications that can (eventually) allow them to captain a cruise ship or super tanker or any vessel they choose.

PM me for my phone number if your inerested.

Simon