When you need to put crew members, new recruits or any other members of your workforce through any type of maritime training, it may not always be instantly obvious as to who should carry out the training. Whilst it is always clear that all members of staff will need training to a specific level before they can head out to sea, knowing which company or individual will be right to carry out that training is less clear cut.
Despite the maritime industry being highly regulated, the actual level to which an instructor must be trained before they can legally give training to others is something that is hardly regulated at all. As such, unless you can be sure that you are using a company that is extremely reputable, you may well be having your personnel trained by individuals who really aren’t up to the task.
This may not seem like a major issue for those who only wish to get the legal paperwork in place to allow their staff to get to work but, in reality, safety training is about a great deal more than simply meeting a simple legal requirement.
After all, there will be a big difference between regulatory requirements and good practice and therefore those who are thrown into extreme situations need to not only know what regulations govern very specific situations but also what approach will keep them as safe as possible in practice.
Therefore, whilst your own company may indeed have people with a great deal of experience and whilst external training companies may well be able to offer your staff a certificate to say they have been trained to a certain standard, with so much disparity between each individual instructor, unless you take the time to research who will be taking the courses, you will not be able to be sure that your staff are getting the best possible training. And whilst passing such training is important legally, it is far more important to be sure that your staff are actually prepared for each eventuality.