Raising The Bar Launches Comprehensive Career Maps for Superyacht Crew

Raising the Bar, a thinktank of experts from across the superyacht industry, is delighted to announce the launch of www.SuperyachtIndustryCareers.com providing detailed career maps for superyacht crew in all departments.

Created in collaboration as a voluntary exercise and kindly hosted by the Superyacht Alliance for Professional Standards, these career maps are designed to guide crew at every stage of their careers, from initial entry to progression through the ranks.

For each department, the career maps have been thoroughly pieced together to provide an overview of each pathway, including timelines to help manage crew expectations regarding the realistic pace of progression. 

Each pathway also includes a comprehensive summary of the qualifications required at every stage, both mandatory and recommended, and in line with the International Association of Maritime Institutions (IAMI) and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), these will be regularly updated as any changes arise.

The hope is that training schools and recruitment companies will share these career maps with both prospective and existing crew to highlight the wide range of career options available within the superyacht industry. We hope that senior crew will also share and use these career maps as they mentor, support, and encourage their juniors to develop.

A key driver of the initiative is to engage, inspire and retain superyacht talent, with plans to extend the career maps to shore based roles offering guidance and support for crew ready to transition ashore.

The more informed we are as an industry, the better decisions we can make and encourage owners, owner’s representatives and other key stakeholders to do so too. The nature of our industry is changing. As it grows and matures and we welcome the next generation of crew into the fold, the industry too will need to change, supporting crew in new and different ways, as well as better managing guest and crew expectations.

Crew turnover overall within the industry is high and remains stubbornly so. In Impact Crew’s 2015 survey it revealed that 78% and 69% of junior interior and deck crew respectively, left within 12 months of taking on a new position. Average shoreside staff turnover rates are between 6 and 13 percent.

The cost of replacing crew and staff runs far higher than the tangible expenses of recruitment, travel expenses, severance pay, etc, and a raft of further costs fly under the radar.

The industry attracts some amazing individuals, but we also lose them for a variety of reasons. Not just on board as they surf from one yacht to another, but from the industry altogether when it’s time to step ashore. Retaining more ex-crew within this unique industry will be hugely beneficial, with the wealth of knowledge, experience and understanding they can bring. By appreciating and addressing the reasons why, finding a range of solutions and then spreading the word, we will hopefully fulfil our aspiration of Raising the Bar – Engaging, Inspiring & Retaining Superyacht Talent.

To view the career maps please visit www.SuperyachtIndustryCareers.com, and if you’d like to join the Raising the Bar think tank, please get in touch with Karen Passman: Karen@impactcrew.com.

About Raising the Bar
Raising the Bar consists of a diverse group of superyacht industry professionals who came together in February 2021 and formed a thinktank, with the purpose of identifying issues and putting forward suggestions of ways to improve our industry.

Current members of the thinktank include: Bluewater, Burgess, Camper & Nicholsons, Fraser Yachts, Hill Robinson, IAMI, Impact Crew, Isle of Man Ship Registry, Italian Yacht Masters, JPMA, Life After Yachting, MHG Insurance, MYBA, Northrop & Johnson, Ocean Independence, Purser Trainer, Reardon Yacht Consulting, The OM, Viking Recruitment, Watermark Yacht Management, Wilson Halligan, Yachtzoo, YPI Crew.

In addition, several independent consultants and yacht captains actively participate in the initiative.