Roughneck Schools

Some oil producing countries have 'Roughneck Schools' where for a reasonable cost you can actually train on real drilling rigs in the skills required to become a Roughneck. This would be an entry level qualification and would certainly be worthwhile if you can find a school in your country.

If you are from Canada then try out the following two links for further information:

www.enform.ca
www.mdslimited.ca

I have no connection with these two organisations, information courtesy of Jim White who has attended the Roughneck course at Enform.

Please see my Scams & Conmen page regarding the link about OilCareer.Com before using their service which is advertised on the Enform website.

If you have any information about similar schools in your country, please email me details so I can list them here.

Roustabout School Aberdeen

The following information is courtesy of Eric Gibson who attended this course and provided the following word for word commentary and opinion; Please take the time to read right through Eric's email and my reply to him also as his negative thoughts about this course are allayed in his reply to my comments.

Hi Martin

Well, I managed to get a place on the banksman / slinger course, I was away on Thursday 21/10/04 - Friday 22/10/04, so I'll now tell you a bit about it. The course cost  £434.75. The first day consisted legislation, and the second day was practical.

Course Content

Current legislation, HSE guidance, safety requirements, inspection of lifting equipment, calculating load weights safe slinging of loads safe use of relevant equipment & accessories controlling movement of loads communication.

My honest opinion of the course is - I'd think twice before going on such a course again. The first day was basically a blur, the tutor did know what he was talking about but, he went through all the legislation so quickly, you didn't know if you were coming or going, there is no-way anybody can take in so much info in such a small amount of time, and I was glad that the other 5 on the course thought the same.

The tutor was a Scouser (nothing wrong in that), but my point would be that he was talking far too quickly, being Scots I can talk very quick at times but, I'd say this was beyond that. He told us from the start that he had to get to a certain point of the course by the end of the day, he got to the point he wanted, but left us well behind.

The second day was a bit better, actually practising hand signals with the crane-operator then putting the practise into use moving containers, I learnt a bit more that day, but not enough.

We had a test to sit at the end of the day, this was hard; however, you were given a handbook that gave you all the legislation, names of shackles and everything to do with operations, I managed to score 89%, you had to score 80 or above. The certificate basically says, you attended the course on such'n'such a date. At least I managed to get a good B&B, just 5 minutes from the RGIT centre, I just took the standard room, £25 B&B, you had a TV, kettle and a wash basin, the place was very clean, and this I would recommend.

The course time was meant to start at 0900 and finish at 1700, it started nearer 1000 and finished at 1600. On the second day we started at 0830 and ended at 1530. I'd say for me, the course was disappointing, if it were on for longer this would give you a better chance of picking things up, and also making it worth the price, but as it stands, I don't think it's worth spending the money, just wait to see if you can get it through an employer, but these are just my thoughts on the matter.

Well Martin, if you need anymore info with regards to the course, feel free to ask.

Cheers
Eric

Hi Eric

Don't be disheartened about the course mate. Many many offshore courses are purely 'attendance' type courses rather than a real study course with an exam at the end. The certificate that you get will be valuable and give you an edge over other new starts applying for the same position as you because you have had some exposure to the practicalities of the job and RGIT is the training school in the UK as far as offshore training goes.

Regards
Martin

Hi Martin

Thanks for your feedback, I don't feel as bad about the course now, with what you've explained it sort of makes sense, these types of courses give you an insight as well as a beginning into what the jobs may be like.

I received the proper certificate for the course, today, it has what course you sat and that the candidate successfully completed the course work (says a bit more, but I've shortened it).

Thanks once again Martin, I will keep you informed of my progress.

Cheers
Eric