KEY POINTS:
Like many teenage boys, Blair Skilton didn't see the point of studying at school.
Physical education was by far his favourite subject, even though he was competent at maths, English and physics.
So when Blair left Orewa College at the end of sixth form, he decided to travel the world, have four months' holiday a year, save most of his earnings and buy his first property within a few years.
And, no, he wasn't dreaming.
Blair, now 22 and a third officer on the luxury QE II liner, went straight from school into a three-year Diploma in Nautical Science run by the New Zealand Maritime School.
The diploma and one in marine engineering are run by the 84-year-old, Auckland-based school which aims to attract secure, independent young men and women who want to travel.
To get into either of the diplomas, which include two years of study and one year of practical experience at sea done in two or three separate stints, you need 48 NCEA level two credits, of which 14 must be in maths or physics and eight in English.
But you don't need to have a technical or boating background, says the programme co-ordinator for the school's foreign-going courses, Kees Buckens.
"We tell students what a screwdriver and a welding rod look like and we show them which end of a boat is which," says Dutch-born Buckens, a former ship's captain who worked on cruise ships for more than 20 years.
Blair, who did a cadetship programme with the Spirit of New Zealand while he was still at school, admits studying for the diploma challenged him.
"But I could cope because everything was so relevant to the career I wanted to follow and it was my ticket to go out and see the world."
He now works for three months, seven days a week on board the QE II then has six weeks off before his company, Carnival UK, whose parent company Carnival Corporation owns about half of the world's cruise ships, flies him back to wherever his ship is.
Last year, Blair says his accountant brother talked him into buying his first flat in Glenfield with his savings, and, so far, just some of his favourite cities include San Francisco, Hobart, Singapore, Southampton, Barcelona, Venice and Acapulco.
"I've now made England my port of repatriation which means Europe is my playground when I'm on holiday."
Depending which ship students do their practical diploma experience on, they are paid a stipend of between US$600 ($737) and US$1000 a month while at sea. As all flights, food, accommodation and medical insurance costs are covered, the allowance can add up to money in the bank even before new graduates receive a starting salary of around $55,000 a year.
Shipping companies who have helped train graduates expect them to apply for a job on their ships, but they are not bonded to do so, says Buckens.
"There's a worldwide shortage of shipping crew so it is 100 per cent an employee's market."
Three-quarters of the 700 people in New Zealand working in the maritime industry are due to retire in the next 15 to 20 years.
But Buckens, who has been marketing New Zealand-trained shipping staff to overseas companies for the past few years with good results, says the numbers of students attracted to the maritime school's courses are growing each year and some companies now insist that their Australian employees train in New Zealand.
"In 2001, we had five students. This year, we have 38, including one woman, and next year we are looking at around 50. Based on past figures, the average student expects to work for 10 to 15 years on a ship."
Blair's planned career path certainly backs that up. He wants to gain his master's ticket on the QE II which will qualify him to eventually become a captain and earn a salary of up to $250,000 a year.
His company will also put him through an MBA, which he says is a ticket to a land-based career in the maritime industry further down the line if he wants to settle down.
These days, shipping companies are so keen to retain good employees that they are also much more family-friendly, says Buckens.
Policies vary from company to company, but many let junior officers bring their partners on board ship after one year and the partners of senior officers are often allowed to stay onboard indefinitely, sometimes with their children.
"The days of a life at sea being lonely and isolated are long gone, particularly with modern communication technology," says Buckens.
"Most ships have satellite phones for emergencies and the state-of-the-art ones have cellphone reception now."
