THE MARINE SOCIETY & SEA CADETS
EDUCATION & CAREERS
Founded in 1756, The Marine Society has provided guidance, life-long learning
opportunities and support for professional seafarers from all the sea services
since before the time of Nelson.
Today's seafarers find that The Marine Society's College of the Sea levels
the educational playing field by ensuring that they have the advice, support
and access to similar learning opportunities
as are enjoyed by their counterparts ashore.
This is achieved through the provision of a comprehensive educational support
programme which includes distance-taught packages tailored for seafarers
and maritime professionals; the provision of a library and a news service
to ships throughout the world; financial support to UK seafarers; plus expert
impartial advice and guidance on all aspects of life at sea.
We have a 250 year-old remit to encourage young people to make informed career
choices about the sea and about an industry that employs a quarter of a million
people with a £38 billion turnover - twice the amount of aerospace
or agriculture - and that's just in the UK!
Not all careers within the maritime sector involve a life at sea or necessarily
the need for any service afloat at all. The nautical world offers a
hugely varied (and sometimes unlikely!) range of opportunities - from ship-broking,
sail-making through to hair-dressing. Possible career
options include naval architecture, marine surveying, maritime law, involvement
with P&I (insurance), auxiliary services (such as crewing administration
/ training, for example), and a whole range of offshore possibilities: as
a diver, a geophysicist, a DP (dynamic positioning) operator or oil-rig worker. For
those who are more scientifically-minded, there are also careers to be had
in marine conservation or oceanography.
From the earliest days of encouraging street urchins to consider maritime careers, since the merger with The Sea Cadet Association in 2004, the MS-SC has been actively striving to promote both the Merchant and Royal Navy to young people - particularly the Sea Cadets - as a positive career choice, whilst emphasizing the other options within the wider industry. This is achieved by promoting webships (with content linked to the National Curriculum Key Stages 3 & 4), through liaison with nautical schools and colleges, and the country-wide activities of the individual Sea Cadets Units. The website (www.ms-sc.org) is aimed at anyone who has an interest in matters nautical, but has a prime function as an informational resource for those seeking guidance in their future employment direction, offering completely impartial advice, which is also available in person to anyone wishing to call. As a charity, grants and interest-free loans can be made available to seafarers in certain circumstances, and we also sustain existing sea-going personnel through our libraries and technical book services.
Life at sea, although demanding, offers its own particular rewards and satisfactions and represents a challenging career for those with the right personal qualities and ambition. The Marine Society has been supporting such people for 250 years - and look to the future generations to continue doing so.
To major on a single strand of maritime careers, an increasing number of top-end seafaring jobs are being created as a result of a boost in the cruise industry. Some 62 new cruise ships were launched from 2000-2004, and with between 500-1,500 crew members needed for each - and more ships due for launch this year - this isn’t a declining trend. Cruise travel’s new-found popularity and the resulting job availability is being fuelled by the American market – possibly due in part to a disinclination to fly after 9/11.
Besides a pleasant manner with passengers, potential candidates for the posts have to display an ability to get on with their colleagues – essential when living quarters are restricted, working hours are long and there’s no chance of going home to ‘escape’ at the end of a shift. Then there are the passengers: a cruise represents a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, so staff in all positions have to get used to being ‘on duty’ whenever they venture out of their quarters, even ashore. The ability to take orders and fit in is a necessity, and although this isn’t the Royal Navy, there remains a definite hierarchy to observe. Although a high sense of responsibility and self-discipline is a pre-requisite, a job on a cruise liner has much to recommend it: food and living costs taken care of, a chance to meet out-of-the-ordinary people from many different countries, and a chance to see the world.