The MNTB was recently made aware of an issue that has impacted many of our UK cadets. Due to the current long wait times to secure an Officer of the Watch oral exam slot, many students are having to seek the assistance of an external provider to deliver oral exam preparation support.
Although oral exam preparation is being delivered by maritime colleges as part of the approved cadet training programmes, the long delays between the end of training and the oral exam has meant that many cadets are being forced to seek oral exam preparation from external, unregulated companies.
Whilst there are several independent providers within our industry offering excellent levels of oral preparation support and guidance for a very reasonable fee, there are many others taking advantage of vulnerable cadets, delivering unregulated, poor quality, information at exorbitant cost.
We are urging all cadets who are considering using the services of an external oral preparation provider to err on the side of caution before they sign up to a course. If in doubt, they need to raise this with their college or training management company directly.
Kathryn Neilson
Director
Merchant Navy Training Board
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