Entry Requirements

Qualifications

You should normally have a minimum of four National 5s (or GCSE or Standard Grade passes at Grade C/3 or above), including English, Mathematics and a Science based subject.

OR, you can complete the Cadet Programme Access Course which provides an alternative access pathway to the Cadet Programme.

Other equivalent qualifications and/or relevant experience may also be accepted.

Nationality and Residence Requirements

You must be a National of the UK or an EU Member State, and hold a passport of the UK or an EU Member State.

You must have been resident in the UK for at least 12 months (some sponsoring shipping companies require up to 36 months of UK residence).

Medical Requirements

You will have to pass a medical examination (known as 'ENG1') to demonstrate that you are physically and mentally fit to work at sea. The ENG1 examination assesses your health and fitness (including your eyesight) against standards set by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) based on international maritime guidelines. Further information about the ENG1 medical examination is available on the MCA website.

You can pass the eyesight part of the ENG1 medical examination if you wear glasses, provided you meet a minimum acceptable standard without glasses. Other medical issues that affect your eyesight may prevent you from passing an ENG1 medical examination.

You must have an acceptable standard of colour vision to pass the ENG1 medical examination. The minimum acceptable standard is different for deck and engineer officers. If you have been diagnosed as colour blind using a standard colour vision test (Ishihara plates) you can undergo an additional test to more precisely measure the severity and type of colour vision loss that you suffer from. If you pass this additional test you can be classed as medically fit.

Please contact us (details below) if you need any advice or further information about the medical requirements.

Employment / Sponsorship

Acceptance on the Shetland UHI Merchant Navy Cadet Programme is dependent on you being employed or sponsored by a shipping company, ship manager, or by another organisation on their behalf who will provide the sea service and at-sea training necessary for the award of an MCA certificate of competency.

If your application to Shetland UHI is successful your application will be forwarded to sponsoring companies for their consideration.

Further Information

If you would like further information on any of these entry requirements you can contact us or email study.shetland@uhi.ac.uk