Trainee age limits

[Stuart McDonald]

Hi
Does anyone know if the companies have an upper age limit on trainee positions??? I am 39 so am slightly concerned that companies would rather employ younger trainees.
I originally trained as a systems/electronics technician and have been working in the telecoms industry since I left so I feel I have a good background to retrain as a ROV pilot/tech.
I wanted to retrain years ago but family commitments put a stop to it and I am wondering now if I have left it to late??

Thanks
Stuart

[Andy Shiers]

No , It’s not to late.
Providing you have an in date medical for offshore use.

[Chaos]

Hi Stumac30,

We advertised for rov trainees at the beginning of the year. We had 4 positions to fill and had over a thousand CV’s submitted so we had the pick of some highly qualified individuals. I could not believe we got so many but i suppose the internet is a great tool for world wide promotion.

The ones that we took had experience in an industry or military environment. My youngest trainee is 26 and the oldest is 36. Older trainees listen more and usually don’t try to fly at 500 miles an hour.
I think that since you have industry experience and relavent qualifications you would probably put yourself across better at an interview than most.

You will probably need to make sure that your CV is in the short list to start with. The CV’s are first read by someone who usually has no knowledge of rov’s but has been given a list of points to look for. Exapnd your CV to show how good you are at areas relavent for the rov industry and less on things that don’t really apply. Don’t write a "war and peace".
You need to make them feel that you would be an asset that they just have to have.

If you have your survival and medical already thats a bonus and usually will swing a job if the others don’t have it.

we will probably be advertising again very soon for trainees. Don’t give up at the first hurdle, keep sending in the CV’s even if you have to submit them once a week to all the companies, just keep sending them.

Chaos

[Roy Simson]

One of my trainees in my crew was 66 years old so as long as you can pass a offshore medical there should be no problems .

Cheers

Raptor

[Mike Spence]

Hi.
This is reassuring ! I’ve been lurking here for a little while now trying to psyche myself up for a total career / life change …. at 48 ??

It’s a daunting thought to leave my current job ( which is going totally pear shaped ) but after 22 years in Telecomms doing mostly jointing and construction work it’s definitely time to move on ( no fibre optic unfortunately but I am around it quite a bit ).
I served a welding/engineering apprenticeship and spent 6 years in total in the fabrication industry, after that I moved into plant maintenance/mechanical work with a bit of basic heavier hydraulics repairs included, not to mention all the hands on operation of various hydraulic machinery ( grabs, cranes, Palfinger, Poclain, Hiab & most currently pole erection units ). I’ve no electronics experience but could look into evening classes or similar to get a bit more background.
Sorry for the hijack stumac30 but you asked what I have been thinking about asking but just kept delaying as I felt that I was probably too old and I’m not in a position to quit my current job and take a big gamble, I would have to be more certain ….. if that is even possible in this current jobs market ?? Also interesting to hear that having survival and medical courses before even submitting a CV would be a slight advantage.
Sorry for the long reply but any advice would be appreciated. Mike.

[Stuart McDonald]

Thanks for all the replies, that is good to know.

Hi Chaos, that makes sense. I will go over my CV again. I had tried to make it relevant to the ROV industry but had also included management skills etc which I will now tone down or remove.

I have sent my CV to quite a few companies in the last few months, only 2 companies came back to me and that was too say they were not recruiting!! I was a bit surprised that more did not reply even to say they were not recruiting or my skill set was not suitable but if they are getting that many emails it is understandable. Once I have redone the CV I will start annoying the HR depts again by pushing my CV out again.

Hi Mike no problem, I am sure there are lots of people in our position wanting a change.

Thanks again, it’s much appreciated.
Stuart

[Mike Spence]

I swithered about taking the 3 week course at Fort William just so that I could at least seem to be showing a genuine interest and get more insight at the same time. Expensive, and I wouldn’t get the time off work. Also, virtually all the advice read on this forum is against taking a course ?

Good luck Stuart, maybe see you out there some day !

Mike.

[John Bridgett]

I swithered about taking the 3 week course at Fort William just so that I could at least seem to be showing a genuine interest and get more insight at the same time. Expensive, and I wouldn’t get the time off work. Also, virtually all the advice read on this forum is against taking a course ?

Good luck Stuart, maybe see you out there some day !

Mike.

It worked for me! I really dont see it being a negative thing IF you have relevant experience.

Regards – J

[Mike Spence]

Ok. More to think about, if my current employer were to offer me even a basic leaving package then I would almost certainly do the 3 week course & I’ll see about doing some sort of part time evening class style electronics regardless.
I’m almost 90% sure that I won’t get a pay off though ….. how much are kidneys selling for on the black market at the moment 🙄

Cheers,

Mike.

[John Bridgett]

Ok. More to think about, if my current employer were to offer me even a basic leaving package then I would almost certainly do the 3 week course & I’ll see about doing some sort of part time evening class style electronics regardless.
I’m almost 90% sure that I won’t get a pay off though ….. how much are kidneys selling for on the black market at the moment 🙄

Cheers,

Mike.

I bit the bullet back in August and paid for a course with money I didn’t have and couldn’t afford. It was a gamble and it has certainly paid off. The course was brilliant, not mega amounts on the technical front for me to learn but the practical aspects of ROV operation and the experience flying the ROV was excellent. There was much more ‘value added’ parts too including having your CV’s vetted, lots of info regarding offshore life etc.

J

[Andy Shiers]

And you are now employed by ………………………. who ?

[John Bridgett]

And you are now employed by ………………………. who ?

Starting with Fugro on Monday

[Roy Simson]

God not Fugro ! I hope you have bought lots of peanuts !
But back on the subject if you can pass a OGUK medical you have no problems !

Raptor

[John Bridgett]

God not Fugro ! I hope you have bought lots of peanuts !

Raptor

Perhaps you could share your superior knowledge? I’m new to the game as you know and whilst it may not be megabucks in the scheme of things it’s not bad as jobs go.

Whats the problem with Fugro?

J

[Mike Spence]

Yeah, come on guys spill the beans ?
Presumeably you are all currently in suitable employment and have a fair amount of experience under your belts, you also must have worked with a good cross section of ROV pilots / technicians from various backgrounds & training so why is everyone ( already in employment in the industry ) so against the training course entry method ? Why are students fresh from a course any different from a student trained in house, is it that the in house training is usually over a longer period and more specific ?
I appreciate that this industry is currently in need of experienced crew and not just an influx of trainees who will need constant supervision & coaching for some time but it’s a catch 2 situation …. how the hell do you get in and gain experience in the first place ??
The next 5 years or so could see a real boom in demand for pilots / technicians so are the subsea companies likely to start advertising more for new recruits or will the likes of Fugro look for applicants who have a basic knowledge in shape of a training course certificate. So …. is it best advised just to get a CV in order and send it out to as many HR departments as possible or …… wait until posts are advertised ???

Forgot to mention, I earn 25k gross and have been covering a post 2 grades above me for almost 8 years now without the proper pay grade as that’s how it is in my industry, numbers have been reduced so much that there are not enough people left to do the work. Even if I could earn 35k I would be absolutely over the moon !!

So many questions 😕

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