You know its February in Clyde Marine Training because we’re talking about September! We begin the interviews for the September intake this month and we’ve already been to Fleetwood, Cork and South Tyneside. They have gone well so far and the standard of applicant is high which is great.
We’re also due a visit from Lesley McLeod of Gulf Offshore who will be coming into our offices and seeing their trainees.
Also during this month the Glasgow Deck Trainees are off to sea for the first time. They’ll be getting their ‘Going to Sea’ talk this Wednesday, we wish them all an exciting and enjoyable time. Going to sea is of course why all the trainees have joined us in the first place and so this is in many ways when the training gets ‘real’. The great thing about our training is so much of it is practical and spent working in the actual environments rather than just theory from a classroom. The balance needs to be right and we think we’ve got that bit correct.

Well it’s a brand new year and we would like to welcome all our new trainees who have recently started with us and we hope that you enjoy your new chosen career in the Merchant Navy.
As of the end of January our application is now back online, so if you feel that a career in the Merchant Navy is for you then fill in your application now for the September intake. We have been inundated already so do it now!
Also this month there has been some changes within Training as Lesley Ellis is now the Training Officer for GCNS Deck Trainees and Jim Downie is now the Training Officer for Fleetwood Trainees, all concerned will be updated.
As always, interviews have been taking place all over the country including South Tyneside, London and Bristol. Glasgow will be commencing interviews as of next week.
Also look out for Clyde Marine at an open day soon, we will be in South Tyneside on the 6th February, the Glasgow University Engineers Fair on the 9th February and in Fleetwood on the 12th February so come along and find out more.
We have also been visited by some of our Client Companies this month to discuss their Trainees and how well they are getting on.

As always if you have any queries about a career in the Merchant Navy then do not hesitate to contact us, we are always here to help.
And would you believe another Clyde Marine employee had a baby boy just after the New Year so congratulations to him!!

The weather has been affecting us a bit this week – many travel arrangements for Trainees joining vessels have had to be re-arranged and then re-arranged again so the folk in the travel department have been a busy bunch. At least the threat of a BA strike is over for the moment – this could have affected quite a few people either joining or leaving vessels all over the world. Thankfully we were not affected by the other airlines going bust – we feel for those people who were though. 

Christmas has hit us full blow here – we had our Christmas night out on Friday which was enjoyed by all who attended – we also had our Christmas lunch here in the office today. We had a mountain of goodies to eat and Santa visited us too (we must have all behaved this year) delivering lots of chocolate, bubble bath and tipples! Gifts also included a ‘tasteful’ Mrs Claus outfit, a kilt beach towel and some other things which are best left unmentioned... All in the best possible taste!

All that’s left to say is Merry Christmas to you all – and a Happy New Year when it comes! See you in 2010.

Big congratulations are to be passed on to all our Trainees who passed their final oral exams over the last couple of weeks – the results have been fantastic and we are all very proud of you! Good luck to those who have exams coming up in the next few weeks, we have our fingers crossed for you.

Some Trainees were down in London at their sponsor company’s head office this week for a visit which went very well. This is a major international entertainment company so the Trainees, along with their Training Officer Ashleigh, were treated to a ‘behind the scenes’ look at all that goes on there. Many of the sponsor companies we work with invite their Trainees into their offices for a visit at points during their training which helps then get to know the people they will be dealing with throughout their training and possibly their career.
The office is getting quieter at the moment as the various colleges close for the Christmas break and our staff try to use up the last of their holidays! This has meant we have had a bit of time to get our tree up before the rush starts in January – there are courses starting again at various points during January and February all over the UK. Almost all of the paperwork seems to be in place now so most new Trainees are all ready to start on their new courses

Secret Santa in the office next week – will keep you posted on the best gift!

 

We recently launched, that seems an appropriate way of putting it, a new service – Clyde Marine Uniforms www.clydemarineuniforms.com We have always provided our trainees with uniform and safety gear according to what their shipping company requires, but only very recently have we launched our own online business which is open to everyone who requires a uniform to work. We sell all sorts of safety, first aid and uniform supplies, including different types of workwear, so if you need anything in that field take a look at our website for competitively priced items delievered to your door.

Careers events quieten down at this time of year so the next events we are attending will be in January – Warsash Maritime Academy’s Open day on 22nd January and the Take Time event in Rothesay on 27th January 2010, but we have been keeping busy in other ways. All the colleges we deal with have to have contracts with us so the new versions of these have been in production; renewing these can take a lot of paperwork back and forth but it’s worth it to ensure all areas of learning are covered.

You may have seen a very concerning article which appeared in this week’s Nautilus Telegraph, where an Officer Trainee (not a Clyde Marine Trainee) gave his opinion on the rates of sponsorship payments for Trainees. The article was alarming in several ways – not only was it highly inaccurate but it was also an incredibly one sided piece which did not bring the many important aspects of Officer training carried out ‘behind the scenes’ into account. We go to great lengths to ensure that Trainees are fully prepared for sea both mentally and practically, plus are paid a fair sponsorship allowance which takes into account the expenses they will realistically incur. We were therefore startled that such a biased and erroneous piece was allowed to be printed without any comment from those named. We will be writing to the Editor to express our concerns but in the meantime would like to assure readers of our strong commitment to all of our Trainees.