Meet our team – Paul Bury

February 20th, 2012 by The Underwater Centre

Paul Bury has been leading the ROV training facility at The Underwater Centre in Fort William for over 10 years now, and still works around the world as an ROV pilot technician to keep his knowledge and skills up to date to pass on to students.  In this blog post Paul tells us how he got started as an ROV pilot tech and about the job itself.

“Initially, I trained in law, graduating from the University of Lancaster and Chester College of Law – the prospect of thirty five years of high street litigation loomed. Sufficient dislike of the idea of long term lawyery meant that I needed a plan! Whilst training as a Solicitor, a fellow student at Law College said he didn’t think I was destined to be a Solicitor – at the time, I was replacing some power transistors for an electronic flash gun and re-designing the battery charge circuits. Maybe I should have listened then!

“My love of sport diving brought me to Scotland. Whilst here, I signed up for a familiarisation dive at The Underwater Centre. From there, I enrolled on a course and completed my HSE SCUBA, Surface Supplied and Surface Supplied Top Up courses. It was on this course I saw my first ROV. Inevitably, this led to my taking an ROV course. From there, I went to work for Sonavision. Pretty soon I was teaching electronics to other ROV students whilst still working offshore.

“Over the years, I’ve moved from being an ROV pilot technician who did a bit of training to running ROV training at The Underwater Centre and doing a bit of offshore ROV supervising.  I recently completed a stint offshore during the Christmas period, with Subsea7. I bumped into a few of our graduates on these trips which was great to see – all were really enjoying their work and career progression. My current role means I have the best of all worlds: I teach at a world class facility; I’m involved with cutting edge industry developments via the Centre’s industry trials programme and I get to keep my hand in, offshore, too.

“There are three questions I get asked by nearly every person who is considering being an ROV pilot technician: can I do it; how much can I earn; and will I get a job? So, as you’re all dying to know, here are the answers.

“Can I do it? IMCA (the International Marine Contractors Association), the people who’s curriculum we follow, recommend people from an engineering, electronic, electrical or hydraulic background although I’ve found that many people with a keen interest in these subjects can be successful, even when coming from a completely unrelated background like I did. If you have the will to learn and desire to succeed, your destiny is in your own hands.

“How much can I earn? At the time of writing, ROV employers are literally crying out for good pilot technicians, with demand being fuelled by increased investment in subsea oil exploration and extraction – a result of high oil prices. There is no reason to suppose that the current situation will change over the next few years, with industry experts making bullish predictions about ROV requirements.  Add to that, the fact that the renewables sector is increasingly using ROVs and prospects are excellent.  Typical starting rates will be something like £150 per day; within a few years you may command £500 per day as a supervisor.

“Will I get a job? Whilst I can’t personally guarantee any student a job, I can say that we work really hard to ensure that every student has the best possible chance of a career in the ROV industry. I keep every student’s email and add this to my mailing list. This means I can keep them informed about every new job that comes along, and employers use me as a way of finding new talent.  There are hundreds of former students on this list and many let me know about job opportunities for me to circulate to everyone else.  This has proven to be a great support network for all of our former students. We’ve also had companies such as DOF Subsea taking on our students following visits to The Underwater Centre.”

Are you thinking about training as an ROV pilot technician?  Or have you worked with Paul in the past?   Leave a comment and let us know.

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Posted in Industry Expertise, ROV
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Commercial diving and windfarms

February 13th, 2012 by The Underwater Centre

Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen an increase in people keen to pursue a career in commercial diving, due to the increase in employment potential highlighted in reports documenting the rapidly expanding offshore wind sector in Europe*.

“A total of 235 wind turbines, with an aggregate generating capacity of 866MW (megawatts) and costing £2billion (2.4billion euros), were installed and fully grid connected in offshore European waters last year… EWEA’s target for installed EU offshore wind power capacity by 2020 is 40,000MW, producing approximately 4% of the EU’s total electricity consumption. This equates to 8,500 5MW turbines of the size installed in Scotland’s Beatrice demonstrator.” (Press & Journal)

 

Divers currently working inshore are also keen to move into the sector due to the potential of higher earnings. However certain qualifications are required, including the HSE Surface Supplied and HSE Surface Supplied Top Up.  The Underwater Centre, Fort William, provides the training for both of these.

Norwich man, Lee Walker decided to pursue a career in commercial diving after working for a dive company as a yard person.  Lee said: “Working for a dive company I was aware of the buzz around the Marine Energy Renewables Industry and I saw how much divers enjoyed what they did, so I was keen to explore a career for myself in the industry. “The Underwater Centre was recommended to me by divers who I worked with, who had trained there and so, having previously done my HSE Surface Supplied course in Dunoon, I decided to book in to Fort William for my HSE Surface Supplied Top Up, which I would need to be able to get work on the windfarms. It was fantastic and will help me now secure employment on a windfarm.”

 

A number of former Underwater Centre students now work for Osiris Marine Services on windfarm projects.  Charlie Bayston, Operations Manager from Osiris, supplier of engineering services to both the onshore and offshore sectors said: “Approximately 75% of our diving personnel, including some of our supervisors, completed their basic training at The Underwater Centre. For many people currently working in the offshore sectors an HSE Surface Supplied Top-up qualification was the first step on the long road of their training and development.

“Yes, the offshore wind sector is currently expanding and as such we have offered an increased number of newly qualified divers the chance to prove themselves as we integrate them as trainees on inland / inshore projects and give them an opportunity to progress their training and experience. We, as a company, strongly believe in building from within and are always on the search for hard working individuals with the right attitude who are prepared to invest the time and effort into developing a career in offshore wind.”

Are you working inshore and thinking of working in the renewables sector? Do you have any questions about diving on windfarms? Leave us a comment and let us know.

*The European Wind and Energy Association report “The European Offshore Wind Industry – Key trends and statistics”.

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Posted in Diving, Industry Expertise, Past student
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Meet our team – Andrew ‘Herb’ Mitton

February 6th, 2012 by The Underwater Centre

Andrew ‘Herb’ Mitton has been an instructor at The Underwater Centre, Tasmania, for the past three years.  In this week’s blog post, Herb tells us how he got started as a commercial diver and passes on some advice if you’re thinking of a career in commercial diving.

“I was always fascinated by all things dive-related as a child.  I spent hours reading all I could on the subject, and religiously watching relevant TV programs such as The Underwater World of Jacque Cousteau.  I did my SCUBA and Surface Supplied training in my late teens, however my first career was in the horticultural industry where I formed my own business as a landscaper in Sydney.  Diving was always my dream though, so eventually I took the decision to move to Tasmania to pursue a role as a commercial diver in the aquaculture industry in 1988. 

“I started as a farm attendant/ diver and worked through a number of companies in Tasmania and Western Australia holding progressively higher roles, finishing up in 2009 holding the role of Managing Director!  I first heard of The Underwater Centre, Tasmania, back in 1996 when I undertook additional training with the school then.  I also used the Centre to provide dive training for myself and the divers under my management from 1997 through to 2007, which is when I left Tasmania for a while. 

“I remained an active diver during the 21 years I spent in the aquaculture industry, logging over 4,500 dives prior to joining The Underwater Centre, Tasmania, in 2009. I also completed a number of civil dive jobs which included pipe-line installation and maintenance, wharf and pier installation and maintenance, design/installation and maintenance of mooring systems, and the occasional salvage job. Plenty of interesting stories… most not fit for print and conveniently forgotten to protect the guilty! 

“As a commercial diving instructor I really like the interaction with our students and enjoy assisting them in building their knowledge and skills towards their qualifications. It’s satisfying to see the personal growth they go through during their time at the Centre. I am passionate about the diving Industry and enjoy the opportunity to teach a subject I am passionate about.

“In terms of what background best suits for becoming a commercial diver, I think it helps if you have a natural passion for working on or in the water and I found my own aquaculture background very useful in this regard.  Having said that, some of our best students have come from non-water backgrounds/careers and have done very well.  A trade background such as having previously been a welder/boilermaker, fitter, rigger, or a carpenter etc seems to make the practical nature of the work easier to grasp and also can assist to get a job, as many employers look beyond the diving qualifications to see what other skills the candidate will bring to their work-place.  We do also provide underwater tools training, which helps those who don’t have a trade background get into employment as a diver.  Helping students into their new career is ultimately what I’m here for.”

Have you got any questions for Herb?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

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Posted in Diving, Industry Expertise
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Earn cash by recommending a friend

January 30th, 2012 by The Underwater Centre

January can be a lean month for everyone, so here’s an easy way to earn a bit of extra cash.  If you’re a past student of ours, you can recommend a friend to book onto an ADAS Part 1, 2 & 3 Package, or ADAS Part 4 Course, at The Underwater Centre, Tasmania and, to say thanks, we’ll reward you with cash. 

If you’ve attended a course at either The Underwater Centre, Tasmania or Fort William you are eligible to participate in our Recommendation Reward Scheme*.  All you need to do is get in touch with our Tasmania Centre, let them know the name and details of the friend you’re recommending – they need to know you’re recommending them too – and we’ll do the rest. 

Once your friend begins their course, you’ll then receive your recommendation reward payment.  Depending on the course booked, you could earn anything up to AUS$500, and there’s no limit to how many friends you can recommend!

For full terms and conditions of the Recommendation Reward Scheme, click here.

Contact The Underwater Centre Tasmania on +61 3 6383 4844 or email info@underwatercentretas.com.au

*Recommendation Scheme currently does not apply to courses booked at The Underwater Centre, Fort William.  Recommendation reward payment is paid at the rate of 2% of the sales price of courses booked.  Please read the full terms and conditions here.

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Posted in Diving
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What is saturation diving?

January 23rd, 2012 by The Underwater Centre

When many people look at commercial diving as a career, they are looking forward to the ultimate goal of becoming a saturation diver.  Here we explain what saturation diving is, as well as the potential risks and rewards.

Mixed Gas diver training teaches experienced air divers the procedures and competencies required to dive using a saturation system. Saturation divers live in a chamber, for up to 28 days, that is pressurised to the same pressure of the sea at the depth that they will be working at. The chamber is at the surface and divers are transported to the work area under the water using a Closed Bell, which attaches to the chamber and is pressurised to the same depth pressure. Living and working at pressure means that they can be transported quickly and efficiently to the work site under the water without decompression stops, allowing divers to work to much greater depths than on air. When in saturation the divers breathe a mixture of helium and oxygen (hence Mixed Gas), which saturates their body for the duration that they are at pressure (hence saturation).

 
If you are fit and healthy, then the only real risk in commercial diving is from ailments relating to pressure exposure (and partly from individual susceptibility).  The risk from exposure can be controlled by adoption of safe diving practices.  Considerable reduction in the number of incidents and decompression sickness etc has occurred over the last 20 years as a result of changes in diving practices, and improvements continue to be made.  Recent investigations of possible long term health effects conducted in populations of commercial divers have demonstrated that overall there is no difference in health status between divers and non-divers†.

 
To train to be a saturation diver, you have to have a recognised air diving qualification and a certain amount of dives in surface supplied diving gear at a range of depths.  The HSE Closed Bell course takes 3 weeks to complete and currently costs GBP £16,900.  Alternatively, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, our Tasmanian Centre offers the ADAS Closed Bell course.  Both HSE and ADAS certifications are accepted internationally. 

 

It may seem like a lot of money to invest, but when you balance that with average earnings of GBP £100,000 a year*, it’s a small amount to invest for a substantial reward.  Saturation divers can earn around GBP £1400 per day in the North Sea or US $1400 in the Southern Hemisphere, so just one 28 day sat run covers the cost of the training required, with plenty left over to put towards a Porsche!

A recent BBC2 programme looked at saturation diving and shows a working, offshore saturation diving system in action; view it on BBC iPlayer here (40 mins in).

Are you planning on training as a saturation diver?  Do you have any questions about saturation diving? Leave a comment and let us know.

 
† Information from The Diving Medical Advisory Committee Statement on Commercial Diving And Health, October 2006
* Figures from a survey of graduates from The Underwater Centre’ HSE Closed Bell Course, 2008 – 2010

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Posted in Diving, Industry Expertise, Mixed Gas
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