The Canadian Coast Guard hires and trains candidates each summer to become members of an Inshore Rescue Boat crew.
Selected candidates are trained in search and rescue operations. When they successfully complete their training we assign them as crew members to Inshore Rescue Boat stations.
The Inshore Rescue Boat service was started in the 1970’s as part of Canada’s Career Oriented Summer Employment Program, which became the Federal Student Work Experience Program. In 2013, the Canadian Coast Guard partnered with the Royal Canadian Navy to allow reserve-force Naval personnel to be assigned to the Inshore Rescue Boat, as part of their training and development.
Stations in the Maritimes sector are located in:
Student training takes place at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, NS.
As part of a crew, participants will respond and provide assistance to mariners in distress or need of assistance, including:
Inshore Rescue Boat crews also provide public education on boating safety topics, such as:
Normally, each station is staffed with 2 teams made up of 1 coxswain in charge and 2 crew members.
Inshore Rescue Boat training lasts 16 days and begins shortly after the end of the school year. Topics include:
Students are paid during training. Information about accommodations during training will be provided by regional coast guard staff during the interview process.
Search and rescue operations can occur at any time of the day or night, during all types of weather and sea conditions.
Inshore Rescue Boat coordinators schedule crew members using a 46.6-hour averaging work system. Participants will work a 14-day cycle, consisting of 2 weeks of work followed by 2 weeks off.
Email: DFO.CCGStudentRecruitmentProgram-ProgrammeDeRecrutementDetudiantdelaGCC.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca