By Baz Riley
I
6
I have been in this line of CP for just under 3
years and it has changed drastically over this
time, from the qualifications needed to how the
money has dropped.
To gain employment in this field now you will
need to spend at least £3,000 - £4,000 on courses,
most of which are of very little use to us as CP
Workers. An STCW 95 (Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping) is needed. It’s a
week-long course that covers (among other things)
fire-fighting on ships, some kind of medical training
(but this is always a bonus), a weapons course, SSO
(Ships Security Officer), PFSO (Port Facility Security Officer) - although only some companies
want this - plus power boat courses and then any
company training courses that they nail you for.
These are the very basic courses you will need.
The money was good when I jumped from
the pit to maritime but now all the contracts are
being cut to the bone and you only get paid when
weapons are on board, so with some companies
this means no money for the first few days on
ship, depending on the transit.