BUILDING SAFETY INTO RECRUITMENT: IS NOW THE TIME FOR CHANGE? We think it is.

Regardless of your role on a yacht — whether you’re a captain, chief engineer, chef, or junior stewardess — from time to time, we all need to look for work. Several steps happen between you applying for a job and finally unclipping that "No Boarding" sign on the gangway and stepping aboard into your new job, home, and that all-important crew dynamic.

Once your CV looks great, you’ve got some solid work experience, you’ve had a video interview with the recruitment company, the captain, and, in some cases, the vessel owners. your references have been checked, negotiations on the package have been completed, it’s time to sign the SEA. You’re ready to start work. Sounds simple, right? But what have we skipped?

If you were applying for a job on land, there would likely be a few additional steps in this process:
• You may be asked to do a skills test.
• You may be asked to send copies of your qualifications for verification.
• You may need to undergo a criminal record check, especially if you work with children.

In the yachting industry, why should this be any different? After all, yachts often have children on board as guests, right?

Now, think about the fact that you don’t go home each night. You work, eat, socialise, and sleep in a small crew area. Wouldn’t it be nice to know if your cabin mate has a conviction for assault back home or if the person in the next cabin is a registered sex offender?

In the past, the reason this wasn’t done was simply that it was a complex process. It took ages to complete, was expensive, and nobody was pushing for it.

However, if all of this could be done at no cost to candidates, with no added cost to vessels, and was as easy as filling in your name and email address to get the checks started — well, that’d be a no-brainer, wouldn’t it?

That’s where Venture Yacht Crew have teamed up with CrewPass to make this possible.

What checks do you do?
CrewPass checks go beyond criminal screenings and also verify that your certificates are both legitimate and up to date. Not only does this eliminate fraudulent documents, but it also ensures you’re fully qualified to be placed onboard.
Because this verification process is thorough, it shows the vessel that you have all your documents ready to go and proves that you’re the legitimate candidate you say you are.

The Green Tick
Once you’ve been approved, you’ll receive a green tick to put on your CV for the next two years. It’s a bit like Instagram’s blue verified tick but without the influencer nonsense. It shows your future employer that you’re a good fit for the boat, that you have the qualifications listed on your CV, and that you’re actually safe to employ onboard.

Safety as Standard
Venture Yacht Crew ensures that every crew member they place on a vessel undergoes a background check and CoC verification. Venture covers the cost of this, putting the well-being and safety of fellow crew members, vessel owners, and their guests first.

Let’s not forget that these checks also protect the reputation of the vessel. I can think of a few major incidents on yachts already in 2025, and it's only early February. In every case, the vessel’s name was plastered all over social media, but the individual involved? Not so much. I certainly wouldn’t want to be the captain, owner’s rep or manager of a boat explaining to the owner about their pride and joy’s newfound infamy.

Just to point out naming and shaming individuals should not happen on social media, it’s a very dangerous slippery slope, and vigilante posts within yachting groups have no place in our community.

As a company, we are brand new after a year of development. We launched in January 2025, in our first month, we gained MCA accreditation, teamed up with Nautilus as strategic partners, spoke with a lot of captains and crew members, collaborated with like-minded companies and secured our first crew member a job. It’s been busy, to say the least. We have a lot more planned for our first year, with more announcements coming soon. If you are interested in a recruitment company that prioritises the safety of the crew or for our latest jobs and announcements, simply follow our Instagram.

Want to know more about us? check out our website, we don’t charge candidates for anything at all and have industry-leading pricing and packages for vessels looking to recruit.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend an open invitation to all recruitment agencies, management companies, yachting organisations, captains and HODs who want to start a conversation with us on crew safety improvements to get in touch; our door is always open. drop us an email at safety@ventureyachtcrew.com

If you’re a crew member who’s had enough of the growing number of disturbing incidents, Like or Share this blog, and increase awareness. It’s time for change to begin!