Get paid to travel

Not many 19-year-olds can boast that they get paid to see the world on a luxury cruise ship. But navigation cadets Andrew Coombridge and Audi Teves have spent the last six months doing exactly that as a result of the partnership between the New Zealand Maritime School and Princess Cruises.

The two cadets are completing a Diploma of Nautical Science at the New Zealand Maritime School and have just returned to the classroom after six months work experience aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

During their time on the Diamond Princess they visited Russia, Asia, Australia and saw much of the New Zealand coastline.

While on board the cruise vessel the cadets put their initial six months of theoretical training into practice, including navigation, safety procedures and watch keeping duties.

After graduation, they will sail as certificated navigation officers in some of the most sophisticated cruise ships afloat. Opportunities are also available for engineering cadets, who will go on to manage the entire mechanical, electric and electronic plant on board these impressive ships.

"A life at sea is definitely for me. I love being somewhere different everyday - it beats an office job. I'm encouraging all my friends to come along too." says Teves.

In between sightseeing and having fun the cadets completed regular assignments and kept a daily journal.

For them the next 12 months will be spent in a classroom and in the Maritime School's navigation simulator before they depart for their final six months aboard another Princess Cruise Line ship.

Captain Tim Wilson of the Maritime School says there is a worldwide shortage of maritime personnel and graduates of the courses can expect rapid promotion to become senior officers and eventually captains or chief engineers.

"We offer an international qualification and with around 70 per cent of all current maritime expertise in New Zealand alone due to retire within the next decade, these cadets are going to be in demand," he says.

The New Zealand Maritime School has been developed over the past 70 years and overlooks the waterfront in downtown Auckland.

The New Zealand Maritime School is continually expanding its range of courses and resources to provide the highest quality of training. An electronics laboratory provides opportunity for computer training, hands-on and simulator training in radio communications equipment and navigational aids.

Wilson says the international maritime industry is facing an acute shortage of maritime expertise and that the shipping industry and government needs to urgently address the problems caused by the lack of new entrant training in New Zealand over the past 25 years with a combined range of training initiatives.

"The shortage is to get much worse with around 70 per cent of all current maritime expertise (including experienced seafarers) due to retire within the next decade. This will leave ports and shipping companies with a dangerous lack of investment in training programmes. There is a high demand for expertise in most countries and a competitive international recruitment market which is leading to rapidly increasing remuneration rates.

The next enrolment for the course starts February 7. For further information telephone: 09 379 4997