An Overview of the Key Numbers in the Yacht Crew Recruitment Market

YPI CREW, a leading yacht crew recruiter, is pleased to announce the release of its annual YPI Crew Report 2021. The report, which gives an overview of key figures in the yacht crew recruitment market, highlights the strong growth seen last year in the yacht crew recruitment sector, including a 45 per cent increase in job requests.  

“2021 was the year of revival for the yachting industry with all key economic indicators turning green. YPI CREW came through the pandemic stronger and this was thanks to our formidable recruiters and employees who showed great agility and adaptability and I would like to record my thanks to them all,” says Laurence Lewis, president of YPI CREW.

In 2021, YPI Crew played a key role in getting crew back to work on yachts whilst also delivering a robust financial performance for its shareholders of the Schulte Group. After the economic contraction of 2020, the company entered 2021 with a strong will to grow and by the end of the year, increasing its own work force in Antibes by over a third in order to meet the growing demand for crew. 2022 will see the company celebrating 20 years of trading with further plans to develop the company through partnerships and acquisitions.

The Numbers that Marked 2022

 As far as the activity is concerned, YPI Crew recorded a 45% increase in job requests from 2020 to 2021, and 13% from pre-pandemic 2019 to 2021.

 The segments with the sharpest growth were the chef and stew departments, both registering a 57% rise in job orders, followed by the engineering department with a 50% increase. The demand for deckhands and bosuns grew by 32% and another 3% for senior deck officers. Captain jobs saw a healthy increase of 20% fuelled by a vibrant brokerage market.  

 With regards to the split between private and charter yachts, figures are extremely consistent with the past years; 61% private and 39% on charter. Some 94% of all jobs were on motor yachts and 6% on sailing yachts, again, totally aligned with previous years. Another consistent percentage is the size of vessels; 39% of all our jobs are on yachts 71 metres or above and 32% on yachts between 51 and 70 metres. 

Parallel to the buoyant job market, new crew registration was also at an all-time high with almost 8,000 new crew registering on the platform from all over the world which, for a mature company, is a noteworthy figure. This represents a 9% increase from 2020 which was already a busy year. It is also a very positive message to an industry so often worried about a future lack of crew. There is a large community of existing crew but also newcomers looking to enter the yachting world.

Yacht recruitment predictions for 2022

Looking forward, 2022 has started on a strong note with already the month of January showing an 80% increase in job requests from January 2021. YPI Crew believes that captains will rely on the sound advice of knowledgeable recruiters who understand the market, have a voice and can advise appropriately, and it also believes that its core values of trust and partnership are relevant now more than ever.

YPI CREW will remain focused on its growth strategy and on delivering the best possible service to its crew and clients.