Diving for a living prompts thousands to take the plunge
Getting into a new job is never easy – but if you’re prepared quite literally to take the plunge, then you could find yourself enjoying a lucrative and challenging new career as a commercial diver.
Good subsea personnel are in huge demand at present, and the workflow is set to increase further as a new generation of offshore wind farms comes onstream. Contrary to popular belief, diving in places such as the North Sea, ports, harbours and canals isn’t a glamorous job. It requires concentration, it can be difficult and it’s hard work. But the rewards can be well worth having. Qualified commercial divers are constantly needed by a range of companies from port authorities through to oil giants. They can earn anything from £100 to £200 a day for a newcomer, up to £1,200 a day for experienced specialists working in deep sea conditions.
Scotland is one of the best places to learn. The Underwater Centre in Fort William is a commercial training facility, training about 450 students a year at its school on the shores of Loch Linnhe. Parts of the loch are deeper than the North Sea, allowing for realistic training conditions, and the Centre has installed a subsea training station on the seabed, including a simulated well jacket and a section of pipeline. This allows the student to develop skills in areas such as non-destructive testing and underwater welding.
Douglas Ormiston, the Centre’s Marketing Manager, says plenty of people are happy to pay the £9,000 and £13,000 entry fee for the courses, which can run for up to 13 weeks. Most people fund themselves, sometimes out of redundancy money.
“We’ve had a lot of applicants from the engineering and car industries,” he says. “They’re the sort of people who can make a success of a career in commercial diving. It may seem like a glamorous job, but much of it is a cross between working on a building site and being a handyman. It’s very hands on, which means it suits people in the engineering and construction industries, which may have suffered in the recession.”
Some of the work is offshore, involving stints of 28 days on and 28 days off while servicing North Sea structures. There is also huge potential offered by the fast growing offshore wind farm sector, as the turbines will require installation, repair and maintenance. Other work is onshore, and can include everything from repairing dams through to inspecting canal locks and pier installations.
People of any age can apply to take the course – it’s not unusual to find divers working into their 50s and 60s. The only condition is that those working the sector have to pass a yearly medical. Most commercial divers are self-employed, so they should know how to run a small business.
“You have to be tenacious, but, if you work to sell yourself, you should get a contract pretty quickly.” says Ormiston. “If you’re qualified and make the effort, it isn’t difficult.”
The Scotsman, 23rd July 2010, Andrew Collier