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Deck Officer Cadetship - HNC/HND - CMT

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  • Deck Officer Cadetship - HNC/HND - CMT

    Alright boys and girls, I’ve recently been offered a place on a deck officer program

    1. Can you give me a run through of what the HNC route entails and how the phases are split up?
    2. Is the SAAS non means tested sum of ~£5000 split into the three years or is this sum given out every year of the course?
    3. Is it worth doing the HND after I’ve completed the HNC?
    4. As I’m with CMT who would you suggest I pick for my three potential sponsors if I want to work on deep sea vessels. I understand I might not get my desired pick.
    5. Which sponsors are most likely to hire me after graduation.
    6. I’m 24 and don’t really want to have another spell in student halls, if I decide not to stay in halls will I feel isolated from the class. (read, will I miss out on the crack)
    7. Is it cheaper to stay in the halls? I understand they are a hoora pricey but do you still have to pay for halls during your sea phases?
    8. Can you suggest several must read book titles?
    9. What sort of motley crew are normally on the HNC course?
    10. What tips can you give me to ensure I’m enployable after graduation?
    11. How many cadets with Clyde marine get their desired sponsors?
    12. How many presentations will I have to do during the course?
    13. What is the current/future most employable sector in the maritime industry, preferably deep sea.
    14. What size is the class?
    15. How would you describe your study experience?

    Thats all the questions I have just now. If you’ve been so gracious to answer my question then it’s greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    Aye am going into 3rd phase with CMT in October, just back from my sea phase. First thing I will tell you is for the choices, they mean next to nothing if you put down royal caeribean. Choose Northern Marine as there is a chance you will get on with them and they offer employment at the end of the cadetship. I am irish so don't know about saas too much but I understand it is paid monthly. Do the HND after if you can as most seem to do this anyway and it helps for the Chief Mates. As you are older maybe try to get into St. Lukes as they are less strict. You won't really need to read any books before starting and I'd say the class would be around 20 people. I've Nat answered all the questions but as for the college experience it is very enjoyable and am sure you'll rate it like


    • #3
      I'm a phase 4 hnc cadet currently at sea sponsored by Northern Marine through Clyde. I'll try and answer your questions as best I can.

      1) 5 phases. 1st phase will be the basics (maths,introductions to cargo, chartwork,ship construction) they will try and prepare you so you aren't completely useless when you join for the first time. Phase 2 will be your first sea phase, here you can expect to spend around 4/5 months on board. Phase 3 is back to college where you will study all the subjects in further detail and take some exams. Phase 4 is back to sea, you require 12 months total sea time before you can take your orals so if you went to sea for 4 months in phase 2 you will require a minimum of 8 months sea time during this period. Phase 5 you will be back in college to prepare for your SQA exams (depending of which route you take hnc/foundation). If all goes well and you pass these exams you go pass your orals and job done. This is actually a really brief summary of what to expect over the three years but i suppose some of it will be useful to you.

      2) I have no idea what you mean by SAAS but i can tell you that clyde cadets are paid £175 per week during college phases and £120 per week during sea phase.

      3) Maybe, maybe not. depends what your ambitions are really. The positive of having the HND is having to spend less time in college when you come back to do your chief mates. It's something like 6 weeks opposed to 6 months but i'm not entirely sure. Personally I feel that I have forgotten the majority of the stuff learned during HND when I come back for my mates however, I don't really know much about it so i can't really comment.

      I'm definitely biased but i feel Northern marine would be the best choice, i'm fairly confident of getting a job with them when I finish my cadetship and the fleet is mainly deep sea tankers (I've sailed on two so far). You should read through the companies and research the ones you like the sound of and put down the ones you like best however, i'm sure you're aware that these 'options' don't really mean much.

      NNM, Royal Caribbean and Disney cruises and the ones i can think of off the top of my head. There could be more though.

      6. I can't answer this but, i can tell you my experience. The companies tend to want cadets in halls for the first phase to get used to being away from home and all that malarkey. I stayed in halls for the first few months then asked my company if i could move back home, home being a 30min drive from college. They agreed and i moved out. You might feel isolated from the class, you might not... i can't say. If you put effort into maintaining a good relationship with your fellow cadets there is no reason why they wouldn't do the same with you. When you come back in phase 3 all the cadets will have moved out of halls and will be renting houses together so really if you do stay you're only looking at spending around 6 months in the dorms.

      7. Definitely not. I can't comment on all colleges but i can tell you the prices at fleetwood were disgusting considering you are basically renting a prison cell (shared bathroom, no real cooking facilities) Accomodation was muchhhh cheaper outside of college. You only pay for halls while you are living in them.

      8. I'm not sure, maybe someone else can recommend you some reading material. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

      9. People of all shapes and sizes. some older than you, some younger than you. Some annoying, some friendly. I can't answer this one for you, you'll have to find out yourself. I can promise you one thing though, no matter what, when you come to the end of your cadetship you will have met some truly amazing people who i'm sure you'll stay in touch with for a long time.

      10. My advice here would be try and find a company that will take you on when you finish. If this means spending a year looking and turning down certain companies then so be it. For me knowing I should have a solid job secured at the end of my studies is such a weight of my shoulders, i know so many cadets who can't say they feel the same way. You'll hear a lot of people say ''just get your ticket and worry about finding a job after you're cadetship'' but this would really worry me as i often read posts on here of guys who have been qualified for 1 year+ still looking for their first contract. I feel it's important to really work hard and find a good company that will work best for you.

      11. No idea, not many I imagine.

      12. Haha this one made me laugh, it's oddly specific. I assume you don't like doing presentations then? For sure you'll have to do a couple of presentations at some point for me they were usually in a group. They will be in front of your class though and you should feel comfortable with these guys by then. For this job you need to be confident and able to speak your mind, if this makes you nervous then it will be good practice for you. On a ship there are no corners to hide in.

      13. I'm not 100% on this, sorry.

      14. My class size was ridiculously big, 30+ which really isn't ideal. We complained and requested for it to be split, they told us if we had one more person it would be split but we didn't meet that criteria so unlucky. At the end of the day the colleges are businesses, if they can take 30 cadets they are gonna be earning more money than if they take 20. There seems to be a real shortage of teaching staff also, i was pretty convinced that they couldn't find sufficient teachers to split the class (or they didn't want to pay for more teachers)

      15. This Cadetship has been the best thing I've done with my life. I cannot wait to sail as a third mate on board my company's ships. I'm not too keen on the educational side of things, I've failed my fair share of exams but i work hard and do what i have to do to get through it. You'll learn the most at sea, that's for sure! I have 8 months sea time, in that 8 months I've had some of the best and worst days of my life. Right now i'm typing this message in the Caribbean with a beautiful sunset just to my left out my cabin window and Bob Marley playing full blast. You'll see sights that most don't, view countries from an angle only a select few get to. You will experience loads of different cultures, make friends from every corner of the planet and end up going home with some crazy stories to share at the pub with your mates. It is what you make it, if you work hard and enjoy what you do then its great.

      Hope I've cleared a few things up for you there, if you have any more questions ask away. All the best!

      One final piece of advice - Just because Clyde have offered you a Cadetship doesn't mean you have to take it. There are tons of companies out there many offering higher cadet wages and a more likely chance of job at the end. If you go in with clyde expecting to get one of your options, you may end up very disappointed when they fob you off with Zodiac or some offshore company. Apply to everyone and give yourself as many options as possible.