Electrician trying to get a start offshore
Discussion
I have been trying for a good few months now to find a job offshore as an electrician, this should be fairly simple as i have everything most of the adverts are asking for (bar the survivial but thats in the pipeline in a couple of weeks )and come from a 4 year time served apprenticeship in the chemical industry with 10 years experience as a tradesman.
Unfortunatley all the adverts constantly keep repeating is 'must have previous offshore experience', how is this supposed to happen if you cannot get offshore to begin with !!
Can anyone shed any light onto the way to get around this or experience of any companies willing to take on 'unexperienced' staff??
Unfortunatley all the adverts constantly keep repeating is 'must have previous offshore experience', how is this supposed to happen if you cannot get offshore to begin with !!
Can anyone shed any light onto the way to get around this or experience of any companies willing to take on 'unexperienced' staff??
Assuming you have a top class outcomes-based CV, then it may simply be a case of you being filtered out in competition with those who do meet the full job description. Unless you have any other desireable attributes to compensate for this lack of offshore experience you may have an ongoing problem.
I would advise then that you reassure yourself that your CV is indeed the best it can be and that it is designed specifically with this sector and your strong desire to get in to it in mind (I can help with this). I would then get myself out to sea in whatever form and do some relevant work. This could be achieved in a number of ways from simply volunteering, to asking a company for some workplace experience, all for free of course. Once you have done that, you can legitametly describe your experience on your CV and at the same time demonstrate your commitment. Good luck!
I would advise then that you reassure yourself that your CV is indeed the best it can be and that it is designed specifically with this sector and your strong desire to get in to it in mind (I can help with this). I would then get myself out to sea in whatever form and do some relevant work. This could be achieved in a number of ways from simply volunteering, to asking a company for some workplace experience, all for free of course. Once you have done that, you can legitametly describe your experience on your CV and at the same time demonstrate your commitment. Good luck!
When you do your offshore survival, try to make as many contacts on the day as possible. The industry generally is not what you know but who you know. This is for obvious reasons when you get there. You really need to be able to rely on who you bring on board, not least that they are competent at what they are doing, that they won't turn in to a gibbering mess and want to go home to Mammy, you also don't want any accidents! Almost as important is personality, living in a tight LQ you want to know that the guy living with you is not a complete dick! Generally when positions become available it's a case of ringing around amongst the lads to find someone available. It's a very tight circle.
I would suggest perhaps trying to get into some onshore new build work experience first where it is slightly easier to get into due to needing larger numbers of workers. After a few years you should have some contacts made, and might find it easier to get in. Best of luck regardless.
I would suggest perhaps trying to get into some onshore new build work experience first where it is slightly easier to get into due to needing larger numbers of workers. After a few years you should have some contacts made, and might find it easier to get in. Best of luck regardless.
Many thanks for the replies,
rog007 :I have industrial experience on several of the petrochemical plants and facilities in the local area that as an apprentice i had works placements on for 1-2 years at a time over the duration of the apprenticeship.May take you up on that offer of a lookover of my CV if possible ?
Shake&Bake : I woulod love to get into new install and comissioning in all honesty but have yet to see any advertisements on any of the sites i use looking to recruit new staff, is this a sector you are involved in or have any contacts ?
northandy : Yes i have 3 mates all offshore and all have taken my CV to put into their respective companies but still awaiting a reply so beginning to think this is a dead end
rog007 :I have industrial experience on several of the petrochemical plants and facilities in the local area that as an apprentice i had works placements on for 1-2 years at a time over the duration of the apprenticeship.May take you up on that offer of a lookover of my CV if possible ?
Shake&Bake : I woulod love to get into new install and comissioning in all honesty but have yet to see any advertisements on any of the sites i use looking to recruit new staff, is this a sector you are involved in or have any contacts ?
northandy : Yes i have 3 mates all offshore and all have taken my CV to put into their respective companies but still awaiting a reply so beginning to think this is a dead end
chrisl417rac said:
Many thanks for the replies,
rog007 :I have industrial experience on several of the petrochemical plants and facilities in the local area that as an apprentice i had works placements on for 1-2 years at a time over the duration of the apprenticeship.May take you up on that offer of a lookover of my CV if possible ?
Shake&Bake : I woulod love to get into new install and comissioning in all honesty but have yet to see any advertisements on any of the sites i use looking to recruit new staff, is this a sector you are involved in or have any contacts ?
northandy : Yes i have 3 mates all offshore and all have taken my CV to put into their respective companies but still awaiting a reply so beginning to think this is a dead end
Yes it is a sector I am involved with. I would suggest spreading the net further than your own locality, you need to looking at working internationally, most likely places that others do not want to work, Iraq, Nigeria, extreme locations in Russia etc. I wouldn't be looking for staff positions it would be contract. You don't need to wait for someone to advertise put your CV out there, approach agencies and companies. However with 3 friends in the industry you are looking at, it's a bit strange you haven't had a call yet. Have you worked with your mates before? Maybe you don't have as much experience as them (aside from offshore)? Are you ATEX certified?rog007 :I have industrial experience on several of the petrochemical plants and facilities in the local area that as an apprentice i had works placements on for 1-2 years at a time over the duration of the apprenticeship.May take you up on that offer of a lookover of my CV if possible ?
Shake&Bake : I woulod love to get into new install and comissioning in all honesty but have yet to see any advertisements on any of the sites i use looking to recruit new staff, is this a sector you are involved in or have any contacts ?
northandy : Yes i have 3 mates all offshore and all have taken my CV to put into their respective companies but still awaiting a reply so beginning to think this is a dead end
Qualifications wise here are the main from what i have :
JTL Compex Hazardous areas certification of competence (EX01- Ex04)
EAL HV switching Authorised Persons competence certificate (2012)
City and Guilds certificate for the testing and inspection of electrical equipment 2391
City and Guilds certificate in the requirements for electrical installations (BS7671 17th)
Electrical Apprenticeship (1998- 2002)
Btec Higher National certificate (HNC) in Electrical Engineering
NVQ level 3 Domestic wiring & Installation
BS 5839 part 1 -2002 Unit 5 Fire Alarm Maintenance
Experience wise after my industrial apprenticeship i spent 2-3 years in more commercial environments before working (For the last 8 1/2 years) for a large international contractor covering the HM forces site maintenance. (During this recently i have been doing a fair amount of inspection & testing in hazardous areas).
Again i have given my mates a CV as they said they would forward it on, hopefully they actually have and not just forgotten.
JTL Compex Hazardous areas certification of competence (EX01- Ex04)
EAL HV switching Authorised Persons competence certificate (2012)
City and Guilds certificate for the testing and inspection of electrical equipment 2391
City and Guilds certificate in the requirements for electrical installations (BS7671 17th)
Electrical Apprenticeship (1998- 2002)
Btec Higher National certificate (HNC) in Electrical Engineering
NVQ level 3 Domestic wiring & Installation
BS 5839 part 1 -2002 Unit 5 Fire Alarm Maintenance
Experience wise after my industrial apprenticeship i spent 2-3 years in more commercial environments before working (For the last 8 1/2 years) for a large international contractor covering the HM forces site maintenance. (During this recently i have been doing a fair amount of inspection & testing in hazardous areas).
Again i have given my mates a CV as they said they would forward it on, hopefully they actually have and not just forgotten.
Always worth keeping an eye out here: http://sparrowsgroup.com/careers/uk_vacancies/
There doesn't seem to be any suitable vacancies right now, but you may as well send them your cv & keep your eye out on their site as well as keeping in contact
There doesn't seem to be any suitable vacancies right now, but you may as well send them your cv & keep your eye out on their site as well as keeping in contact
If it helps my son did just what you are doing - he was a helicopter technician in the Royal Navy, then a time served plumber, decided he wanted to go off shore so paid for around four courses himself (Can't remember what they were, but included Survival and Banksman I believe). He made some contacts on the courses, then put a tailored CV in to as many offshore recruiters as he could, and telephoned them every few weeks too to keep his name up.
Meanwhile his new contacts from the course did put his CV forward because as others have said its who you know, not what you know. He also got himself put on a few Offshore employment email alerts etc.
After several months (around eight or nine I think) of negativity, he was just about to go to Aberdeen with a view to making personal contact with the various recruiting agencies, when he got a phone call asking if he could come for an interview for a greenhand roustabout job. He did, and started 2 weeks later and has never looked back - now on his sixth trip out there. I suppose the moral of the story is keep at it and get those courses. The fact he had paid for them all and passed them before hand gave him a big advantage at interview. Be proactive with your CV and ask your friends if they will resubmit it for you too. best of luck
Edited to add - I see you are in the North east too, if you want to have a chat with him about any of this PM me your details
Meanwhile his new contacts from the course did put his CV forward because as others have said its who you know, not what you know. He also got himself put on a few Offshore employment email alerts etc.
After several months (around eight or nine I think) of negativity, he was just about to go to Aberdeen with a view to making personal contact with the various recruiting agencies, when he got a phone call asking if he could come for an interview for a greenhand roustabout job. He did, and started 2 weeks later and has never looked back - now on his sixth trip out there. I suppose the moral of the story is keep at it and get those courses. The fact he had paid for them all and passed them before hand gave him a big advantage at interview. Be proactive with your CV and ask your friends if they will resubmit it for you too. best of luck
Edited to add - I see you are in the North east too, if you want to have a chat with him about any of this PM me your details
OP, without wanting to sound too blunt the main reason your CV will have been rejected is because you don't have your offshore survival yet. As I'm sure you can imagine it's a big risk for companies to put you through this when potentially you might decide the offshore lifes not for you after 2 trips (which I've seen happen on quite a few occasions).
Don't lose heart though, from reading your posts you seem quite well qualified other than that. I hate seeing "its not what you know but who you know" in these threds, I get inundated with CV's from "my brother, cousin, uncle, mate from down the pub" who expect me to invest thousands of pounds in them on the basis of who they know. Its all about quantifying our investment in offshore staff. Saying that though, it is a good idea to know where to send your CV.
Don't lose faith, the right opportunity will come along (probably when you least expect it!). Chances are you won't be getting a "staff" role for your first job but its all about perseverance.
Don't be feared to send your cv in whre its not asked for. Its not unusual where we have to raid the CV bank for guys last minute where there's no time to put an add in the paper etc. Can be a wee bit right time, right place sometimes.
Unfortunately, sparkie's rarely come under my remit (I'm a manager for fabric maintanince scopes for one of the big contractors) but if your looking for some advice then feel free to drop me a PM. (I'm not on here all that often but I will get back to you).
Don't lose heart though, from reading your posts you seem quite well qualified other than that. I hate seeing "its not what you know but who you know" in these threds, I get inundated with CV's from "my brother, cousin, uncle, mate from down the pub" who expect me to invest thousands of pounds in them on the basis of who they know. Its all about quantifying our investment in offshore staff. Saying that though, it is a good idea to know where to send your CV.
Don't lose faith, the right opportunity will come along (probably when you least expect it!). Chances are you won't be getting a "staff" role for your first job but its all about perseverance.
Don't be feared to send your cv in whre its not asked for. Its not unusual where we have to raid the CV bank for guys last minute where there's no time to put an add in the paper etc. Can be a wee bit right time, right place sometimes.
Unfortunately, sparkie's rarely come under my remit (I'm a manager for fabric maintanince scopes for one of the big contractors) but if your looking for some advice then feel free to drop me a PM. (I'm not on here all that often but I will get back to you).
Edited by xaby82 on Monday 15th October 21:49
Thanka for all the replies guys and yes unfortunatley i know my chances are limited with not having the survival yet, however i will be definitely booking the course soon (once current work allows me some holidays ). Thanks for the offers of advice via PM i think i will be taking you both up on this offer , will be in touch soon.
, will be in touch soon. chrisl417rac said:
...however i will be definitely booking the course soon (once current work allows me some holidays )...
Worth noting that Survivex in Aberdeen now offers the survival training over a three day weekend if it makes it any eaier to get away from work without raising eyebrows...Have you tried any of the fabrication yards for oil & gas infrastructure experience in an onshore environment yet? E.g. Global Energy or Hereema etc?
Alternatively, are you trying to get work through Aker, AMEC, WGPSN or the operators? If so, have you tried the electrical specialists instead such as Areva, Aggreko etc who just happen to do offshore work?
Alternatively, are you trying to get work through Aker, AMEC, WGPSN or the operators? If so, have you tried the electrical specialists instead such as Areva, Aggreko etc who just happen to do offshore work?
Have you considered applying to Service companies (Weatherford, Halliburton, Schlumberger, BakerHughes etc..) rather than drilling contractors ?
Most service companies that require technicians for hook-ups and servicing of cabins or equipment will pay for your survival and medical. It's a lead in to offshore and many Service hand Techs end up getting jobs and permanent rotations as maintenance electricians with drilling contractors and on platforms.
Getting straight in with a drilling contractor or on a platform is a catch 22 situation....Need experience but can't get a start. Most will tell you it's a merry go round out here right now, people swapping companies and chasing the money...due to a shortage of skilled workers...because no one can get a start...because you need experience...and so it goes round and round....
Good luck..hope you get in...
Most service companies that require technicians for hook-ups and servicing of cabins or equipment will pay for your survival and medical. It's a lead in to offshore and many Service hand Techs end up getting jobs and permanent rotations as maintenance electricians with drilling contractors and on platforms.
Getting straight in with a drilling contractor or on a platform is a catch 22 situation....Need experience but can't get a start. Most will tell you it's a merry go round out here right now, people swapping companies and chasing the money...due to a shortage of skilled workers...because no one can get a start...because you need experience...and so it goes round and round....
Good luck..hope you get in...
Not sure if you have seen this yet, but as i was browsing i thought of you 
https://careers.subsea7.com/exp/VacancyDetails.asp...
https://careers.subsea7.com/exp/VacancyDetails.asp...
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