offshore painters

[colin86]

was wondering what my chances are off getting into this am a qualified painter and decorator and willing to go and do my survival and anything else a would need to get, also what sort of wages do you get?

thanks

[Evo141n]

rope access training?

[colin86]

thanks alot do you think if i get they courses i would have a good chance of getting a start or do they look for experience offshore?

[colin86]

anyone help me on this?????

[jurbie]

From the rope access point of view I suspect you would need to spend a good while building up your hours cleaning windows and the like before anyone takes you seriously for offshore work.

[Who Me]

Colin,
Rope access is a very good starting point as most dedicated paint firms require this and also NDT ticket (non destructive testing). Im afraid putting out a CV saying you are a qualified decorater wont get you a start. Do you have any firms near you who do that kind of work offshore ?. Would be best to go and see someone in person, say you are willing to do your tickets, willing to work for peanuts on a temporary basis until you prove yourself, give the person a good reason to say "go on then ill give you a shot".
Until youve been offshore, sorry the big firms wouldnt even look at you, same will all these threads for mechanics and electricians, its a s**t world, they want experience but how can you get it if they wont give you a start.
On another thread some guy has mentioned starting as a roustabout on the drilling rigs, this can be good to get offshore, then once you have been there for 6 months you will find it a lot easier to move around in the industry.

[thestew]

Im no expert colin, but i would say theres a big difference between painting/decorating in peoples homes and blasting/painting offshore. perhaps you should try getting experience as an industrial painter shore side.

[Popeyed]

I remember when British crews were laid off from merchant ships; although they spent a lot of time painting on ships they could not easily get jobs with decorators ashore. The skills are not a straight swap.

Are you any good with a long handled radiator roller and dog leg paint brush; I ordered nothing else on the ships I worked on. The types of paint used in the marine environment to coat steel are a subject requiring a lot of study in their own right; epoxy, chlorinated, alkyd, co-polymers etc. go and read the product specification sheets of a manufacturer like International or Jotun to get an idea. Steel work preparation is another topic in its own right.

[m3coupe]

I have no experience with decorating but having just secured my first job in oil and gas, it's not an easy field to get a start in. Most jobs advertised are requiring experience in the field. Problem is how do you get the experience? In my case, I didn't want to go offshore so it was slightly easier. I contacted a couple of companies and did some work experience. It took about a year from starting to do my qualification, doing the work experience to actually getting a job. Once I got the interviews, the work experience really stood out and in my opinion, got me the interview and the job. Hundreds of people have the same experience and qualifications but doing something like that off your own back really makes you stand out.

I'm lucky, I know people who have been trying far longer and still not got a start.

[colin86]

thanks alot for all of your advice its been really helpful a would do anything offshore just to get started to be fair a just thought maybe with the decorating experience it might have helped me a little