Tapiit Live has launched the first live-streamed well-being training programme to give cadets the life skills they need to cope with careers at sea. Cadets from vessels registered with the Isle of Man Ship Registry will be the first to trial the new programme, which will run alongside their three-year academic training and aims to reduce drop-out rates and improve mental well-being.
Tapiit Live’s CEO Richard Turner, a former seafarer and managing director at Shell Ship Management, said the course has created a real buzz in the industry and the company is looking at ways to extend the training for cadets nationwide. He said there is a growing understanding that seafarer welfare and mental health provision needs to adapt and improve, which has accelerated following the coronavirus outbreak that has placed seafarers under huge strain with as many as 300,000 unable to return home due to travel restrictions.
Richard said the interactive cadet programme will be live-streamed to ships, colleges and homes with some modules delivered by a clinical psychologist to allow cadets to access training wherever they are in the world.
The course was developed after Tapiit Live identified that cadets require more well-being training throughout their cadetship to better prepare them for the real world of seafaring.
Content and delivery manager Lee Clarke, a former master mariner and a cadet manager, said
the cadet well-being programme involves 16 modules designed to deliver the life skills that the business has identified as lacking from academic courses. This will include managing finances, coping with living away from home, dealing with peer pressure, cultural awareness, understanding isolation onboard, managing mental health and much more. There will also be modules that cover resilience training, coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dealing with a harsh environment onboard a vessel – all vital skills particularly during the current crew-change crisis.
Clinical psychologist Dr Rachel Glynn-Williams, from Liverpool-based Seaways Psychology Services, has helped develop the courses with Lee.
Lee said: “We recognised that through the three-year cadet programme there were certain pinch points where well-being was missed because the UK system is focused on the academic side, which is true across the board and not just exclusive to maritime.
The training programme trial will begin for cadets on Isle of Man Ship Registry vessels from November.
Cameron Mitchell, director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry, said they were delighted to be partnered with Tapiit in this initiative. The organisation announced in July that it would be launching the first ever seafarer welfare app designed by a ship registry, which it is producing with Tapiit, available for free to around 11,000 seafarers sailing on more than 400 vessels under the Isle of Man flag.
He said: “We fully support Tapiit Live’s efforts to develop a pioneering training programme tailored from first-hand experience and a real understanding of the skills needed for a successful transition from cadet to officer.”