Navigation (Deck), Engineer and Electro-Technical Officer routes

Picture yourself as a Navigation (Deck) Officer, an Engineering Officer or an Electro-Technical Officer? Becoming an officer involves a mix of college – or university – based study and onboard training. We tend to call each stage of the course ‘phases’. The amount of time you spend on each depends on which role you’re going for and which course you take.

You could do an HNC or HND (3 – 3.5 years), a foundation degree or professional diploma in Scotland (3 years) or an honours degree (4 years) course.

Whichever route you take and whichever course you do, you’ll get your all-important, highly prized professional seafaring certificate. This is the Officer of the Watch Certificate, which means you are qualified to work on board any merchant ship anywhere in the world. It’s the first rung of the ladder to your seafaring career as a Merchant Seafaring Officer, and you can go all the way to being a Ship’s Captain (with a Master’s Certificate, as it is known) or a Chief Engineer, Senior Electro-Technical Engineer. 

You can learn more about the courses on offer and entry requirements using the tabs opposite.