Navigare 4 - Sjøfartsdirektoratet

til en ukes ferie, før de seiler til Sierra
Leone i februar.
For maskinlærlingene er det ikke noe
stort problem å ligge mye i ro, mener han,
da maskinene også gir strømforsyning til
skipet og er i virksomhet nesten like mye
da som under seiling. For dekkslærlingene
er utfordringen noe større, men Mercy
Ships er svært bevisst på oppfølging og gir
dem mest mulig variasjon i arbeidet.
Kan få norsk sertifi kat
– Vi følger selvsagt helt ordinær ordning
med opplæringsbok som man tar
med seg til neste rederi, delprøver også
videre. Samtidig er dette mye av årsaken
til at det ikke tilrådes å ha hele
læretiden hos Mercy Ships, men fortsette
denne hos et ordinært rederi der
fartøyene er mer i sjøen, sier Ullenes.
For kadettenes del er det godkjente
assessorer både om bord i ”Africa Mercy”,
og på land hjemme i Norge, slik at forutsetningene
for å kunne tilegne seg norsk
maritimt sertifi kat er tilstede. Kadettene
får også noe lønn, men må til gjengjeld
betale for kost og losji slik at de nærmest
går i null. Det er dessuten mulig å avtjene
siviltjeneste om bord, men det er dessverre
kostbart å ha sivilarbeidere, og for
at Mercy Ships skal få dekket denne
kost naden er det krav til at sivilarbeiderne
har utdannelse fra maritim høyskole eller
teknisk fagskole.
– Dersom man ønsker å få opplæring
hos Africa Mercy må man søke
både gjennom Maritimt Opplæringskontor,
som vi samarbeider med, og hos
Mercy Ships internasjonalt, forteller
Ullenes. – Grunnen til det siste er at
Mercy Ships hovedkontor i USA sitter
med den overordnede logistikken på
hvilke typer teknisk personell det er behov
for til enhver tid. Dette gjelder
spesielt for kadetter og junioroffi serer.
Man vil imidlertid få et helt vanlig
ansettelsesforhold til Mercy Ships
Norge, som er et registrert norsk
selskap. For øvrig har vi en kvote på en
maskinlærling og en dekkslærling i
året, og denne kvoten har vi ikke hatt
problemer med å fylle, avslutter han.
MANGE OPPLEVELSER. Opplæringen om bord er variert og byr på spennende erfaringer, sier
Jone Ullenes, konsulent for Mercy Ships, som selv har vært lærling på hospitalskip.
MANY ADVENTURES. Th e training on board is varied and off ers exciting experience, says Jone
Ullenes, consultant for Mercy Ships, who himself has been an apprentice on board a hospital ship.
Apprenticeship for
adventurous idealists
Th e wages may not be impressive at Mercy Ships, but the apprentices
may fi nd themselves getting rich on experiences.
Executive offi cer for technical personnel
at Mercy Ships Norge and co- ordinator
for the Norwegian crew members on
board the ”Africa Mercy”, Mr. Jone
Ullenes , has himself been an apprentice
on board. Since 2002, twelve Norwegian
apprentices have served on board Mercy
Ship’s vessels. – We cannot compete
with the commercial shipowners on
wages, so the ones who come to us have
other motives, he says.
Th e opportunity to experience Africa
In addition to moderate wages, the
apprentices are also given free room
and board. – Th ey sacrifi ce part of their
wages but embark on a vessel on which
they will earn more than the captain!,
Ullenes smiles, – and they get so much
more than money, he continues, revealing
that the typical Mercy Shipsapprentice
readily seeks adventure,
often mixed with a portion of idealism.
And there is plenty of time for adventure,
both on duty as well as off . Th e
apprentices are all given the opportunity
to experience Africa. Th ey get to know
people from diff erent nations and get
friends all over the world. If they want to,
they may observe operations in the hospital
and may ”adopt” a patient to care
especially for during their stay on board.
Varied experience
”Africa Mercy” often lies alongside
quay, but the apprentices are given
proper training and operating experience.
- Th ey embark during a period
which ensures them as much sailing as
possible, says Ullenes. For the engineer’s
apprentices it is not a big problem to
lay still for so long, as the engines also
supply the ship with power and are
running almost as much as during sailing.
For the deck apprentices the challenge
is somewhat bigger, but Mercy Ships is
very conscious about follow-up and
give them as much variation in their
work as possible.
May be granted Norwegian certifi cates
– We follow an ordinary arrangement
regarding the training book, which is
brought along to the next ship owner,
part-tests, etc. At the same time, this is
why it is not advisable to spend the entire
apprenticeship with Mercy Ships, but
continue with an ordinary ship owner
whose vessels spend more time at sea,
says Ullenes. For the midshipmen, there
are approved assessors both on board the
”Africa Mercy” and onshore at home, so
that all the conditions are present for
their possibility to receive a Norwegian
maritime certifi cate. Th e midshipmen
receive some wages, but they have to pay
for room and board and so they end up
close to breakeven. – If one would like to
receive training at the ”Africa Mercy”,
one would have to apply both through
the Maritime Training Offi ce and with
Mercy Ships International, says Ullenes.
– Our main offi ce is located in the USA
and is responsible for the principal
logistics of which type of technical personnel
there is need for at all times. We
have a quota of one engineer’s apprentice
and one deck apprentice per year, and we
have not had any problems in fi lling this
quota, he concludes.
NAVIGARE 4 - 2007 11