I am interested in a career in sar ops but i cant find anyone or anywhere i could get some degree of training apart from joining the mil. I know there are a lot of winchmen and winch ops on this site so i would be very greatfull if any of you could give me some bit of information reguards what route to take.
Interesting dilemma.
Firstly you should know that by far the highest majority of winch ops and winchmen operating in SAR are current or ex-military. Indeed, I think it would be fair to say that it has until recently been much easier/cheaper for civvy SAR companies to take ex-military guys and convert them to their aircraft and operating procedures, than it was to train a guy from scratch.
Following recent contract awards and the future of SAR(H), it now apparent that companies like CHC, Bond, Bristows, etc are having to look to ab-initios more and more. No longer are there droves of military guys leaving the service, and one could argue that the arrival of newer helicopter types (S92, AW139, AS332L2, etc) suggest that ex-military SAR experience is not necessarily relevant.
From a training perspective, all SAR operators will find it difficult to train new people on expensive platforms like S92 and AW139. It just isn't cost-effective to do this and the annual training budget is normally allocated to currency training for the front line crews. Having said that, I believe that current contractual arrangements with the MCA in the UK dictate that the SAR operator should have a training academy - therefore, I would be surprised if CHC don't have a plan for such an outfit. In this case they will offer ab-initio training or contract it out.
The other alternatives are to find one of the few Helicopetr Hoist Operator (HHO) training providers and ask them to put you on a course. But (and a big but) there is no guarantee of future employment and the costs tend to be quite high.
If you PM me I can give you a few more details without upsetting the moderator on this forum.
Edited later.
Ok rant started.
I started this thread with a genuine question about training new guys for SAR. We've been round the houses a few times, but it seems that Whopperchopper's comment is about right in that SAR companies will satisfy their man power requirements by stealing experienced blokes from other operators. I have heard all sorts of rumours about new SAR academies, and I have no doubt that when SAR(H) and UKMFTS get up and running their will be a huge SAR academy at Valley or somewhere else. But what is happening now?
There are many guys like Murry (earlier post) who ask about where to go for SAR training. When I am approached personally by guys with aspirations for a job in SAR I always refer them to the training managers or HR departments at the usual places (Jigsaw, CHC, Bristows). To date I have not had a single reply from these operators nor any indication as to how these ab-initios can enter SAR. New SAR rearcrew can be given very basic training on EC135/EC145/BK117/212/Squirrel, etc before being groomed for a front line job on S61, S92, AW139, etc. I have proved this and continue to be convinced that this is the way ahead. Low 'up front' cost, low risk, sensible progression all outsourced to a sub-contractor. Someone ought to pinch this idea cos I ain't getting anywhere.
AT