Description: A short personal story about boat designing
Instructions: Read the article and answer the questions
Boat Designing was my Previous Employment
My first employer was The Institute of Ship Building in Varna, Bulgaria. I started work when I finished studying at a technical high school in shipbuilding and navigation. That was in 1982. I was employed in the hull section. During that period, I did mainly structural drawings.
After I graduated from the Technical University in Varna in 1993 I went back to the same institute. And as before I began work in the hull section. This time my duties included also class of drawings and some structural calculations. When the small craft design section was established I decided to join the team. We were involved in several projects including work on pleasure boats, sailing boats and some steel hulled work craft (e.g. dredgers and tug boats).
In 1996 I started work in FELS Baltek. The company specializes in the design of off shore platforms. For me that kind of job was something new and interesting. I had an opportunity to study new skills and new computer programs.
In 1998 I went to Finland. For almost two years I worked in Deltamarin Ltd. The company has a good reputation as a ship design company, and I was a very proud to be there. During that period, I had opportunity to improve my knowledge using TRIBON. This is a CAD program which is now very used in many design companies and shipbuilding factories.
To do my job properly I needed to have some essential skills. These skills included:
computer literacy and using specialized CAD programs. Also, I needed to be very well informed about the latest development in boat and ship industry. I spent a lot of time reading specialized magazines.
There are some good and some bad points about my previous employment. Being in different places and different countries helped me to know more about people. I had an opportunity to learn various skills from various offices. On the other hand, travelling abroad meant that I was often far away from my family.
I arrived in New Zealand in 2002. My first employer was Teknicraft Design Ltd. The company is located in Birkenhead, Auckland. I was involved in various projects. My duties included structural drawings, systems, general arrangement and mechanical drawings.