sgtpepperband said:
How easy is it to be seconded to a sea-going ship to get some 'hands on' training in seamanship? I know plenty of Parts of Ship on board who could do with enthusiastic ratings, eager to learn this dying skill.
Realistically? Not easy. The main problem I've encountered is if the training is not in the RNR Career Matrix then its difficult to get the unit hierarchy to approve the hit to the travel budget (especially if the training involves any travel outside the UK!). If a ship would be willing to fund the training and travel from their own UIN then you
may get authorisation from the unit, but as we all know, budgets are tight and not many ships are able to fund these short-term additional personnel and associated travel (although I am aware that it can be done, having assisted HMS Ledbury during her refit in Rosyth while OP Fresco was underway).
However, getting funding is only the first hurdle that must be negotiated - there is increasing pressure being applied by the bureaucrats to ensure that people only undertake training in accordance with their speciaisation Career Matrix, which as anyone outside the bureaucracy well knows, is usually out of date, inappropriate, and/or incomplete! Sadly, we've lost sight of the way in which the fundamentals of being a sailor, of any specialisation, are learnt
sgtpepperband said:
It worries me in the Service now that young ratings do not know the basic rudimentary seamanship skills, using the old excuses ("I wasn't taught that at Raleigh" or "It's not in my Task Book!"). I wasn't taught many things about being a Seaman yet I learnt so much from my experienced Sea Dads; skills which, even though I no longer work as a Dabber on a Part of Ship, still come in useful today.
Agreed 100%