I agree with a lot of what Lucy Jim and the turtle are saying. It would be great if we could have some sort of apprentice scheme to bring on the youth and get them early.
Some of the bigger companies are taking on young apprentices doing their time in the shore base.
But the present competence scheme approved by IMCA does assume that the candidates have some technical ability.
The technical nature of ROV’s does require a technical ability and guys with all the keenness in the world are great but when you have problems with your system it is allot easier when you are working with someone that you can bounce ideas off.
Guys can show a lot of enthusiasm on a course but ones they get their feet under the door are able to hide under the expertise of others (easy to do when there are 2 or more systems on vessel).
The commercial nature of the training schools does allow them to take money off guys that think this is some sort of dreamy industry that they have seen on the Discovery Channel.
Guys that have no previous technical ability should basically be treated as apprentices and made to study at college like an apprentice, not to fork out £10,000 and told they are capebable to operate, maintain and repair an ROV system.
I realise that there are some guys out there who do distance learning etc, to improve the technical abilities and I take my hat off to them. But there seems to be more and more just trying to get things signed off on there competence books as that will get them possible promotion and more dosh.
Thinsub
