Superyacht Crew Recruitment: Where were the jobs in 2018?

YPI CREW, the global authority in yacht crew placement, has published its 2018 data, which gives invaluable insight into the yachting industry. The annual statistics are a key resource for everyone involved in yachting.

Once again, the figures indicate that the industry is expanding. The number of vacancies on yachts seeking YPI's recruitment services increased by an impressive 16% compared to 2017.

For the fourth consecutive year, the majority of jobs were on yachts of 71 metres and more in length. These represented 40% of total crew positions and an increase of 18% compared to 2017.

Positions on yachts of between 51 and 70 metres was the second busiest segment, with a 30% share of jobs. This is a slight drop from 2017’s figure of 32.2%.

The share of jobs aboard motor yachts rose once again, representing 94% compared with 90.5% in 2017. Consequently, the percentage of jobs on sailing yachts dropped slightly to 6%. These figures are consistent with the global yacht market.

Jobseekers who are weighing up the benefits of working on a private yacht versus a charter yacht will be interested to learn that 66% of jobs in 2018 were on private yachts. This clearly indicates that crew should interview for private yacht jobs and not wait around for charter positions.

Captain jobs represented only 4% of jobs while the remaining 96% were crew jobs. Officer registration hit a record high in 2018, which raises the question of whether there will be enough captain jobs in the future.

The number of new candidate registration has increased by 8% in the past 12 months and by 23% over 24 months. This again points to the growth and appeal of the yachting industry.

2018 was the busiest year ever for steward and stewardess registration.

YPI CREW’s data also reveals that in 16 years, 2018 was the second busiest in terms of engineering registration. As in 2017, most candidates were seeking rotational contracts.

For YPI CREW, 2018 marked a milestone: the leading yacht crew recruitment agency recorded the highest number of job orders and placements made in its 16 year history. 

Laurence Lewis, Managing Director of YPI CREW, comments:

“2018 was a productive year for YPI CREW; all the recruiters were fully engaged. This is the second consecutive year that we have had record-breaking numbers of job orders and placements. The yachting industry is flourishing. Finding qualified and experienced crew is hard, so captains and hiring managers are turning towards our crew agency to find solutions.”

For experienced crew members or those who are new to the industry, YPI CREW’s yacht job descriptions are an invaluable resource for finding exciting new challenges.