rov trainee

This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 1 month ago by Ray Shields.

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October 22, 2007 at 5:02 pm #1084

john storer
Participant

Hi All
been in the game some yeas now, and after hearing of my exploits my son fancies giving it a go. He is 19, and was until recently an apprentice plumber. Hes no mug, good with his hands and a quick learner.
I understand he is young and needs expereience, so with in mind contacted one of the firms running rov courses to try and get him on a course in the not too distant future
Ove rthe past few years I have had several trainees who have come through these courses, quite a few of them have had zero hands on experienc eof any kind, even to the point of not knowing how to use basic hand tools, ie spanners and power drill etc, (im not joking here!). Imagine my surprise when the training firm, told me that my son did not have the relevant experience ot even ge ton the course, according to IMCA standards etc. He could knock spots off a lot of the trainees ive had recently, not just because im biased either!
I dont normally use this site, but was sotaken aback by all the above decided to seek advice or help if available on here??
get back to me anyone
John

October 25, 2007 at 7:59 am #14274

aquaman
Participant

hey john, im doing the imca rov course in the phillipines at the moment. i couldnt get on the course in oz because i didn’t have trade certificate even tho i have 7 years exp with hydraulic lift platforms. IDESS in subic bay let me on the ocurse because of my work experience. some of the other guys on the course have no experience so i think they’llnearly let anybody in if you’ve got the cash. here they give 3 times as much flying time as fort williams and freemantle and you get night dives and wreck dives. it is about 1000 pounds cheaper than the others too. i recommend sending your boy there just make sure he dosn’t come back with a wife! its easy to get in trouble here!

October 25, 2007 at 5:40 pm #14275

TheBaron
Participant

I think I’m fast gaining respect for the Fremantle outfit! I never thought I’d hear myself say that…….not in a million years! 😯

November 2, 2007 at 9:12 pm #14276

Allegedly
Participant

Hi Johnnyboy, hell of a coincidence, my lad wants to be a plumber!! As you’ve been in the game for a while, I’m sure you’ll know that employers usually look for guys with qualifications involving hands on experience in electronics/electrical engineering and/or hydraulics/mechanical engineering…..ideally. Sending in his CV to ALL employers world wide is the first obvious step, he could strike lucky and get taken on as an inhouse trainee (you’ll know what that’ll entail, especially re money) but his age may count against him, though not always. At 19 he’s still got loads of time (and patience?!!) to look at local college courses,C&G,ONC,OND or whatever it is these days. The time spent achieving these would be a very sound investment in his financial future.
Alternatively, the distance learning courses (the old correspondence courses and therefore theory not hands on), are good too if you’re working and allow you to work toward the goals mentioned above. At the risk of incurring the wrath of one or two here, there are a number of establishments doing ROV courses here in the UK and elsewhere, you’d have to do your research yourself to choose (or be allowed in, apparently!) which offers the best course with the most success in student job placement. If he insists on going ahead right away, after the CVs have gone out, that’s an option, especially if he’s also enroled on some distance learning in the above skills. Hope thats of use. Cheers

November 3, 2007 at 8:57 am #14277

reg
Participant

I was in a companies UK office recently – Do you know how many CV’s HR gets?
A huge quantity of experienced tradesmen with good qualifications, far too many too employ – they are filed for future courses.
Double or triple the amount from poorly qualified, but ROV school trained?
One CV was from a language student, he’d been robbed of over £10000 by a school – straight in the bin with his CV – Thank god for the honesty of Freemantle!!

you get night dives

aquaman – Please don’t put the bonus of "night dives" on your CV – Only schools could make that a selling point – with comments like that i worry whether the school has any industry experience at all!

Johnnybuoy

Good luck to your son, but don’t waste your money on schools – IMCA should shut 90% of them down.
I’d recommend you do the fatherly thing and tell your son to get a trade!
Nothing wrong with plumbers. I was offshore with a plumber for a couple of years – he got good homers on his time off!!

November 3, 2007 at 10:16 am #14278

Andy Shiers
Participant

I totally agree 😀
Trade , Trade , Trade…In other words Apprentiship .
By the way , I trained up a plumber last year 😯
He was in his forties and wanted a change in life 😯
And I can say that he has the makings of being a good pilot and a good all round team player 😀 ( Only I wouln’t tell him that 😕 )
With a sense of humour and experience in lifes politics 🙂
Tell your son that it’s not all a bed of roses , you get what you put in.
Learn a trade !

November 8, 2007 at 3:05 pm #14279

john storer
Participant

Hi All
and hopefully some of the people who run these rov courses are watching! be worried, I would be!
Have been speaking to various contacts from major rov operators recently about this. They are all indicating that they would much rather take on guys who have done some sort of technical course, ie elec, hyd mechatronic, at a college, or via distance learning, than use people from any of the rov training type schools. This Im told is a direct result of the amount of numptees coming out of these courses, thinking that they are automatically rov pilots. And I can definetley vouch for that with first hand experience. Have had a few trainees recently who seem to think that cos they done a course, they can just sit and fly, didnt realise they had to fix the sub after theyd f**d it cos they aint got a clue what they are doing. One lad didnt even know how to put a drill bit into a hand drill chuck, and once id showed him, he proceeded to attempt to drill the hole with the drill running backwards! Numptees!!
Anyway, I know my lad could knock spots of 90% of the trainees ive seen recently, but want him to have some further technical experience in a relevant discipline, so have got him booked on a hydraulics course with a local respected company, which will give him a c&g qualififcation, and he is enrolling in some night classes at our local tech, probably elect, hyd or mechtronic depending on availability.
So numptee trainees, and the people at the training schools who take their money and fill their heads full of magic – you can take your course, and your competency scheme and ram it where the sun dont shine, not worth a light, and I know cos ive done it myself. Most of the companies ive worked for dont even mention or recognise it.
Enough whinging on that subject now – I feel much better already!1
J

November 8, 2007 at 9:33 pm #14280

Ray Shields
Participant

See the FAQ on Should I do an ROV Training Course.

Also note that doing a lot of courses is a start, but people also need to have EXPERIENCE. i.e. actually have DONE a techincal job. If someone has done a lot of courses, they would be best to try and get a job that makes use of their theoretical knowledge, they need to have relevant work experience on their CVs as well.
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