In the intimate setting of the Hotel Columbus in Monaco, an elite group of the world’s leading players from every sector of the yachting industry came together to put Training, Manning and Recruitment under the microscope. The Flagship Superyacht Academy, the main sponsor for this event, was created for crew who are serious about their careers and yachts that are serious about their crew. And that seems to be a perfect mission statement for what we believe the superyacht industry as a whole should strive for too – a more professional approach by all in the superyacht industry to ensure rigorous safety standards are met. Also sponsoring the event, ZeeBORN has developed software that allows accurate and faster management of crew recruitment and placement for shore-based marine businesses and organisations. Both were deemed ideal partners for our Management Meeting.

The increasingly urgent issue of crew shortages has been a hot topic of many a discussion of late, including at the last Global Superyacht Forum, and for this reason The Yacht Report and The Crew Report saw fit to dedicate one of our keenly attended Management Meetings in order to carry on the debate. Something that was agreed by everyone in attendance – there is no instant fix, and as you look closely at the problem you will see it is a complex one and one that demands the industry to work together as a whole.

Key issues discussed include the world of recruitment and the core issues faced by the market. One of the main points concluded was that although there are some very reputable companies in the industry with more and more advanced ways of offering crew amazing career prospects, first and foremost the crew agencies work for their clients’ interests – the owners. And so, where do crew go to get advice dedicated to them? Well, resources such as the PYA, companies such as Ask Joey and a relative newcomer to the superyacht market, Nautilus UK – a union that can offer legal advice up to the value of £1900 for members who feel they have a grievance that needs to be resolved. There still exists for crew a lack of job stability, with the fear that they could be dropped from a yacht at the owner’s whim. Other problems identified included the wide acceptance within the industry of inequality and discrimination so rife, be it between different racial groups, genders, sizeism (mainly existing for women) or ageism. Discrimination is not tolerated in land-based industries, so why is it so widely accepted as part of ours?

Another major breakthrough in the interests of crew was a pledge by the majority of people attending the meeting to pool some money together and create a fund to provide scholarships and financial help with the costs of training, in order to ensure the best candidates are encouraged to choose the superyacht industry as a career and to help reduce the outflow of quality crew from the market. So many issues were discussed that we will cover them in full in issue 22 of The Crew Report and here online at www.yotcru.com and www.synfo.com

Natalie Vizard


Related links:
Flagship Superyacht Academy
company profile | website

ZeeBORN
website


The recruitment session comprising (L to R) Laurence Reymann of YPI Crew, Charlie Birkett of YCO, Stacy Geddis of Crew4Yachts and Neil Douglas of the Luxury Yacht Group