Commercial diving schools

Dan D

Hey guys and gals
I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with either The Underwater Center (Fort William) or Professional Diving Academy (Dunoon
Argyll)
there is a big price difference between the two
i have read a lot of reviews on the fort william school both good and bad but can't seem to find any any either good or bad on the dunnon school
So i was hoping someone would have advice on either please
it will be the premium/premier package i will be going for

NordicDiver

Fort William is great, took the CSWIP 3.1u course there a few years ago. You be better off with accommodation off site though..bit pricey onsite.

iremex

Dan D,

My advice is go for the cheapest option (be it fort bill or Dunoon) but just keep in mind a few points (points i wish i had be given when i started but luckily got away with my choices)

1. do the basic DIVING courses, i.e HSE Part I,III,IV and FORGET the rest of the nonsense bits like "skills" courses Add ons. they serve of no benefit really as most of your "skills" are learned onsite.. even 6years later i am learning onsite new techniques and technologies as you are given a training over-brief of the job and tool you are going to use on the job

2. With PDA you are given about £1,000 worth of work gear, drysuit, fladen suit, green river etc. (fort bill might offer this too and stand to be corrected)
3. you will need the first Aid at work.
4. If money saved from the "skills" allow for it, swap the FIRST AID AT WORK and do the DMT course instead and CSWIP Inspection (do the CSWIP IN TWI Middlesborough as the tank you train in is the tank you are examined in) as these are recognised qualifications and are paid everyday you are offshore with most companies.

I did my course in fort bill and did the basic course. the thing is you need to get in and out as soon as possible as the extra weeks doing "skills" courses.



hope that helps and missed plenty of other points am sure but if you need any more info feel free to get in touch

stevo65

Hi,

I’m from The Underwater Centre and I’d like to take thisopportunity to clarify a couple of points. First of all, you do get a drysuitpackage as part of our Premium and Construction packages. Iremex is right inthat the DMT is a good certificate to have to make you more employable. (Onemember of every offshore dive team must be trained in advanced first aid.)

Iremex is also right in that no matter how much training youdo at the start, there will always be more that you learn on the job. However, from our experience, we have found that the additional skills trainingdoes help our students at the start of their careers. If you’re on a joband are asked to perform welding, burning, rigging or slinging, it stands toreason that you’ll perform better if you’ve done it before and been prepared bythose who have worked in the industry before you – as all of our instructorshave.

On the CSWIP point, yes, you could go to TWI and completeyour training in the same tank that you’re going to sit the exam in. However, our CSWIP preparatory course is not just designed to get you throughan exam, it’s designed to actually prepare you for the job you’ll bedoing. (You also get two weeks worth of training for the same price astheir one week.)

We know from years of experience in the commercial divingindustry, and from working closely with diving contractors, when you startworking as a diver you need to know how to do the job. (Which is also whywe include underwater construction tools and tasks as part of our HSE divingcourses now, and not as an optional add on.) When you start out incommercial diving, you’re only as good as your last job. The betterprepared you are to perform well on that job, the better you’ll get on indeveloping your new career. While there may be a few thathave a different story, for the majority of folk, this is what we’ve found tobe the case.

In addition, we’ve also found that it’s better to haveadditional training and skills under your belt, as the more courses you dobefore getting that first job slot the less likely you are to lose it if thecompany suddenly gets a contract needing certified people. If you have to gooff for a week or so to do a course and examination your employer may not bewilling to keep your slot open. If you have already done the CSWIP prep coursebut didn’t feel ready for the examination straight away you would only have togo off for one day to complete the examination. You would be more likely tokeep your slot if you just needed to go off and do an examination rather thando the whole course and the examination.

Dan D, we wish you the best of luck in your career, whereveryou decide to train. This has been a great year and the whole industry looks tobe getting even busier so prospects are good.

Steve Ham, General Manager
The Underwater Centre

iremex

"the more courses you dobefore getting that first job slot the less likely you are to lose it if thecompany suddenly gets a contract needing certified people"

just to clarify a few points,

welding is never allowed offshore without being coded first (i never welded before going offshore but got trained and coded by the employer for the weld we were doing)

the "competences" given by training schools are unrecognised in the industry and serve as a familiarisation. If you want to get certified in i,e. Rigging and Slinging, then you need to attend somewhere like Sparrows in Aberdeen and do the surface OPITO Rigging and Slinging course. Or for the subsea certificate in the Hyperbaric Centre in Aberdeen has the SUBSEA Rigging and Slinging course. (have done both and would opt to do the surface rigging as the subsea is a bit of a waste of money as it is only recognised by a few dutch companies)

regarding CSWIP, i still believe that doing the course in TWI is the way to go as in 2weeks in TWI you can have the 3.1u and 3.2u courses completed and certified if passed. even with the training in TUC, you still have to attend the 3.1u exam AND still have to do another week(3weeks in total) of training to do the 3.2u exam.


At the end of the day its what you feel comfortable doing/paying. As Steve has pointed out, it is better getting certified at the start of finances allow for it.
As i have said, i got my basic diving tickets, went to work and during that time off did my certification for various different aspects of diving.
Personally i have spent the money getting certified by recognised agencies/bodies(even if they have to be renewed every couple of years!)

it is not an easy industry to start off in but bear with it because it does get easier with time as you have more contacts and more experience.

Hope this advice serves some purpose as working as a freelance Diver I am only offering my opinion as someone with no vested interest into how much you spend :-)

Best of luck with it.