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Introduced in April 2012
the RYA Professional
Practices and Responsibilities ('PPR') Course is a new online course and
assessment and is required by all those individuals seeking a Commercial
Endorsement .
It is
being phased in between April and June 2012.
-
New Commercial Skippers:
Those seeking to become commercially endorsed after 1st April 2012 will need
to undertake the course and assessment.
-
Existing Commercial
Skippers: Those seeking to revalidate their Commercial Endorsement after the
1st April 2012 have two options. i) If renewing before 1st June you can opt
to undertake the course and assessment ii) Those applying after 1st June
will have to undertake the course and assessment
Why is there a new course?
Being a
Commercially Endorsed Skipper carries with it many responsibilities and a need
to understand a whole variety or areas such as the kit and tests necessary on
the vessel you are using, the crew you require and what your qualification
allows you to do. Historically many Skippers failed to fully appreciate their
responsibilities and to understand what they needed to do to manage their craft
correctly and in line with the various legal requirements. In conjunction with
the MCA the RYA created a course to address this gap in knowledge.
In the
run up to the course being launched there has been a degree of misunderstanding
on various websites and forums concerning the nature of the course and how
beneficial it will be. Having undertaken the course ourselves we have been
really impressed with the way that it is structured. As a Commercial Skipper it
is not expected that you know the answer to every question however you must have
a good idea where to find the right answer and a good appreciation of the
general rules surrounding what you do. This is where the course really excels as
what it does is creates scenarios (boats/skippers & jobs) and uses these to look
at the issues and rules and show you where to find the right answers. These
answers are to be found in the various supporting documents that have been built
into the online course and directly replicate the information, manuals and forms
you will find in the 'real world'. In the assessment this approach is continued
with most of the questions being based around scenarios where you need to use
the information to answer the questions.
As a
centre we consider that we are pretty knowledgably about this subject and even
so we were impressed with the things that we learnt when doing it!
How long will it take?
As a
guide we feel that it will take you between 3 and 8 hours to undertake the
course. Where you sit in this rather wide range will depend on how conversent
you are with the subject (For example if you own/run a coded boat this will
inevitably help you) and how quickly you learn in an online environment. There
is no rush with the course and the set up allows you to do a section, save where
you are and log in again later. The assessment will take about 30 - 60 minutes.
If you pass the assessment then you are immediately generated a PDF certificate
for you to keep.
Do I
need to undertake the course/exam in one 'hit'. No, once you are running with
the course you save what you have done undertake it over a period of days or
weeks.
If you
need to revalidate your Commercial Endorsement it would make sense to start your
PPR Course at least 4 weeks before your Endosrement expires to give you plenty
of time to undertake the course and to send off the forms to the RYA.
What happens if I fail?
Of
course this will happen from time to time however if you take your time with the
course and make sure you don't rush the modules you should be fine. If you do
fail then in the first instance call us and we will allocate you an Instructor
to discuss with the the issues that you had. We will work out a plan of action
with you and help you towards a pass at your retake.
How much does it cost?
£31 +
VAT. This fee is payable either to us if we set you up for the PPR course or by
you directly if you choose that option (See the bookings page). The fee is set
by the RYA.
Can I pay for extra assistance from your Instructors through the course?
Yes you
can. In the first instance we will provide telephone/email support to chat
through any issues and will happily sit down with you in the Office over a
coffee and discuss any elements that are more challenging. These chats are not
charegable. If you want to spend longer with an Instructor we would charge at a
per hour rate of £45 inc VAT.
Why choose us for this course?
It may
be that you have already worked or trained with us in some capacity in which
case I would hope that our understanding of this sector has been apparent to
you. If we haven't had the chance to work with you before perhaps some
background information about us would be beneficial.
Powerboat Training UK is a professional but family run business based at Cobbs
Quay Marina in Poole where we have our own dedicated Offices and a range of
craft. Our client base is reasonably equally split between Commercial users
(Renewable energy, Construction, Fire & Rescue etc.), Superyachts, Military and
Law Enforcement Units and leisure users. We were founded about 10 years ago and
have developed an expertise and understanding of the commercial sector which is
very strong. We run our own coded RIB and Motor Cruiser so fully understand the
issues surrounding running coded craft and being commercial skippers.
As you
may have seen on our website, without exception our Instructors are highly
experienced and are all Commercially Endorsed themselves. We run a considerable
number of Yachtmaster and Advanced Powerboat courses and exams each year so
fully understand the commercial sector in this regard.
With
regard to the PPR course itself we were one of the initial handful of schools
asked by the RYA to review the draft course and exam and have worked with the
RYA subsequently to assist in the development of the course. We have created a
team of three dedicated instructors who will be available to assist you as you
progress through the course. The team consists of:
Paul
Glatzel: Paul is
the Centre Principal and has a wide range of Commercial Experience and was
involved in the pilot course. He is a RYA Yachtmaster Instructor (Commercially
Endorsed - Power), a RYA Powerboat Trainer and a RYA Powerboat Examiner.
Nye
Davies: Nye is a
RYA Yachtmaster Instructor (Commercially Endorsed - Sail & Power) and a RYA
Powerboat Trainer.
Paul
Sargent: Paul is
a RYA Yachtmaster Instructor (Commercially Endorsed - Power) and a RYA Advanced
Powerboat Instructor.
I
am intending undertaking my Yachtmaster Offshore/Yachtmaster Coastal or Advanced
Powerboat Examinations ('Certificate of Competence') purely for personal
satisfaction and do not intend working commercially. Do I need to undertake this
course and assessment first?
No. This
is only necessary if you intend commercially endorsing the Certificate of
Competence. You can go ahead and undertake the Exam without doing this.
I
am not due to revalidate for two years - can I take the course now?
Yes -
and it is actually a great idea to do so. As mentioned above we felt we learn
lots from the course and feel that any Skipper will. You can do the course and
assessment and then use your certificate to revalidate your Commercial
Endorsement when necessary.
What happens at my next revalidation?
You will
undertake a shorter course and assessment that focusses on the thinks that have
changed since your first did the PPR Course. The RYA haven't written this yet as
they don't need it for another 4 - 5 years.
I
am over 65 and need to revalidate more often - do I need to do the course more
frequently?
No, you
will be treated the same as anyone else.
Are there any exemptions?
To quote from the RYA website "If
you hold an MCA Certificate of Competence as Officer of the Watch, Master 200,
Master 500 or above you do not need to take the PPR course. Please send a copy
of your MCA certificate with your application or renewal form for your
commercial endorsement."
Is
there any other information that I need?
PTUK
Booking Form (Contains Terms & Conditions of Booking) ~
Here
RYA PPR
Course - News ~
Here
RYA PPR
Course Information & video ~
Here
Okay, I would like to go ahead - what is the process?
There
are two options:
1) You
contact us and book the course, we take payment and create a system login for
you. We send you the details of the logon and you get going with the course
2) We
send you a link to the course and you create your own logon and progress with
the course
Questions?
We are
sure that you will have questions. Please feel free to give us a call or drop an
email through and we will do our best to answer them. Alternatively if you want
to pop in for a coffee and be shown around our classrooms and boats then just
give us a call to arrange a time. |
