As well as the military training for SAR rearcrew that takes the best part of a year, the Jigsaw project team working out of Sumburgh and the Miller Platform, northeast of Peterhead, have started to train their own crewmen. Most Jigsaw rearcrew are ex-SAR but for sustainability they have decided to take trainee winchmen with a suitable background and give them an in-house package with a view to becoming a winch-op later in their career.
As for Buoy 15's comments about the "face fitting", you've been misinformed and I agree completely with Cabe LeCutter's comments. The courses at Valley and St. Mawgan are difficult but the real learning starts when you arrive on the flight. Nimrod experience count for very little when it comes to flying helicopters, particularly in the very demanding role of RadOp and Winchman. Some make it - some don't, but it's ability and attitude that counts, not having a face that fits.