There is a lot you can do from home without visiting a school offering an entrance to yachting course. We recommend you keep your money for the time you are looking for work and follow the advice below. We assume you have already obtained your minimum qualifications of STCW95, ENG1, and any relevant visas necessary for travel to a yachting hub.

Some positions may require additional qualifications, such as Food Hygiene Level 3 for Chefs or Powerboat Level 2 for Deckhands.

Gain relevant experience at home before coming to yachting. This is by far the best step you can take to get employment quickly in yachting.

If you want to be a deckhand, find a boat repair and maintenance centre. Get employment with them for a year or so before you spend money on courses. This way, you can get paid to learn on the job, getting experience maintaining and operating different vessels. This type of experience stands out on your CV and shows ingenuity and forward-thinking.

If you want to be a steward(ess), look for a job at a high-end hotel. Aim to get shifts doing both housekeeping and working in their restaurant, gaining experience across the high-end service industry. Pulling pints at the local pub, or serving burgers at a sports bar or café, is not relevant to the yachting industry.

These sort of experiences will also show your work ethic. If you have held down two jobs at the same time while trying to save money to enter the yachting industry, it will place your CV well ahead of a candidate who has not had any employment history on land.

Crew entering yachting now have access to more information and free tutorials online than any other generation before them. Use it to your advantage. It may be a video on the different parts of a boat and basic nautical terms, a demonstration on laundry items, cleaning demonstrations, and understanding product knowledge for both interior and deck departments and many more. There is no excuse not to know the very basic terms or job tasks expected of you.

When you go onto a boat for your first interview and the captain asks you, “What is the portside of a vessel?” and you don’t know, chances are, you will not be leaving with a job offer.

• Act Professionally at all times. While it is fun and exciting to be in a new place, you have spent thousands on the required documents and, in some cases, travelled thousands of miles to be in a position to look for work. Don’t spend your time propping up the local bar and convincing yourself that this is networking. It isn’t. You never know who else is in the same bar. The person you stumble into drunkenly at closing time could be the Captain you have an interview with the following day.
• Dock walk every weekday. You might strike it lucky and get some daywork, so make sure you have everything you need to start immediately that day. Then, work hard, pay attention, and follow instructions. Treat every day of daywork as a chance to prove yourself. This could lead to more daywork or even a full-time role on this vessel or another one they know. Avoid calling on boats during break times, generally 1000-1030, 1200-1300, and 1500-1530.

Yes, a lot of crew members make yachting their career.

Yachting is a unique industry that has an unusual work environment with a combination of high guest expectations and long working hours. You are living and working in a small area with multiple other crewmembers of different backgrounds and nationalities which can at times be challenging.

So needless to say this is not the industry for everyone, but in our opinion the perks far out way the negatives. Yacht crew have the opportunity to:

• Earn higher wages than on land. While getting generous leave allowances as they progress in their careers.
• Have living costs paid for by the vessel.
• Travel to places most people will never get to see
• Make friends from all over the world and explore different cultures.
• Progress at your own pace following your program of continuous professional development.

In short, you get out what you put into yachting, some people who are driven, motivated, and complete all available training, get promoted accordingly and have incredibly successful careers. Crew members who put in minimum effort and don’t invest time and money into their career development simply don’t do so well.

We speak with captains, managers, and HOD's daily. By far the top three attributes they request are:

1. Work Ethic: Employers are looking for hard workers, not those doing the bare minimum to get by. People who strive to learn and work to the best of their abilities, in a clean and organised manner. And who take initiative to help other departments with tasks as and when required without being told.
2. Listening: Paying attention, and respecting crew hierarchy. When more experienced crew members are showing you a task, or giving you a job list, pay attention and then do it how they showed you. Don’t think you can reinvent the wheel and do it your way or cut corners. Listen to and follow the lead of crew members of a higher rank, or those who have more experience than you, regardless of whether they are in your department or not.
3. Have a nice personality: Be kind, clean and considerate. Crew live and work in a small environment with each other, so you should always be respectful of others. Clean up your mess, and don’t leave your personal items lying around the boat or crew mess. These sound simple but are among some of the most common problems crew have with other crew.

In general, there is no rule against having a tattoo, however some boats have policies where they will not hire people with visible tattoos. But others don’t, this is dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

If you ask the majority of people in yachting they will say no, and we tend to agree. Yachting is a fun and exciting industry, but it is still a professional workplace with rules and regulations that must be strictly adhered to. A job on a yacht involves long hours over extended periods, sometimes doing jobs that you will not find exhilarating, enjoyable or entertaining!

It's not all champagne in jacuzzis so don’t expect that. 

First of all, a soft foldable bag is essential. Not a hard suitcase. As boats generally will not have space to store these. 

This is a good example:

https://www.eastpak.com/uk-en/luggage-c140/tranverz-l-whale-grey-pEK63L83Z+00+999.html?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIleTT7bmhhwMVpoFQBh30VQRNEAQYCSABEgKJdPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Storage space onboard a yacht is limited. You should pack light and bring the basics that you need such as:

• Laptop/Tablet.
• An unlocked smartphone that will accept a local SIM card.
• All your chargers with the correct adaptors.
• A watch.
• Any personal items, toiletries (Basics are generally provided by the boat), contact lenses, spare glasses, etc.
• Any personal Medication that is needed. It may be hard to find the same brand in different countries make sure you have enough for the season. (You may need to inform the captain/officer depending on the type of medication)
• Sunglasses and a spare pair.
• Workout clothes and shoes.
• Suitable clothes for various situations such as relaxing in the crew mess, going out for dinner, swimming, etc.

Crew accommodation varies depending on the vessel. Generally, you will live in a shared cabin with 1 cabin mate and you will have a shared ensuite bathroom. It is normal procedure for the Captain/Chief Stewardess or one of the officers to conduct weekly cabin inspections, to ensure hygiene and that nothing in the cabin is damaged or broken. So best to learn to make your bed every morning and keep things clean. 

Depending on the size of the vessel a laundry steward/ess will be working in the yacht laundry. A common system is that each crew member has a laundry bag for uniform and personal clothing and a small mess bag for underwear and socks. One of the interior crew will be taking care of laundering your items so keep in mind how you hand in your items. Make sure your pockets are empty, and your socks are unrolled to be placed with your underwear in the mesh small bag. 

Each yacht will have an allocated system that will explain how they would like the laundry to operate. Follow these guidelines and ask if you have any questions.

Meals are provided for crew and food is generally of a high standard. During the hiring process, you will be asked if you have any allergies/dietary requirements.

Most yachts operate a crew WIFI network, available throughout the vessel. A yacht may operate a crew WhatsApp group, for communication onboard in addition to crew radios.

Most crew members also get a local or roaming SIM card for when they are off the vessel.

The MLC (Maritime & Labor Convention 2006) stipulates the limits on hours of work or rest.

Maximum hours of work shall not exceed:
14 hours in any 24 hours
72 hours in any 7 days

Or

Minimum hours of rest shall not be less than:
10 hours in any 24 hours
77 hours in any 7 days

These are clearly defined in MLC2006 please see the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/seafarer-working-and-living-rights/maritime-labour-convention

Under MLC 2006 the vessel/employer will repatriate you to your home address, listed on your Seafarers Employment Agreement. In 99.9% of cases this is what happens. In the 0.01% of cases where this does not happen, we have our own crew abandonment policy, provided by a 3rd party which covers you for a specified number of days from the start of your employment.

No, never, absolutely not! This is against the terms set by MLC 2006. A candidate should never be expected to pay any fees relating to recruitment to any agency or employer.

There is an increasing number of scams targeting crew, offering jobs for a sign-up fee, or where they ask you to pay travel or uniform costs – you should never do this. It is a scam.

We have 25 years of experience in the yachting industry and have never come across a legitimate boat or employer doing this.

Unfortunately, there is no real answer to this. It depends on so many factors and which role you are applying for.

In reality, some people with specific skills and experience may take a few days or weeks. At the start of the Mediterranean season, if you are a new crew member with only the basic qualifications, and no boat or land-based work history, it can take a long time unfortunately. Some people run out of visa time or money before securing a role as there are sometimes hundreds of candidates applying for each position.

It is all on you to showcase your qualifications, skills, and work ethic.

We strive to connect with every qualified applicant, who applies for a position with us. However, due to the high volume of applications we receive, it is not always possible to reach out to everyone individually. Rest assured, we will contact all candidates who advance to the next stage of the hiring process. Typically within 2 to 3 business days after applying. If you do not hear from us by then, you may not be selected to move forward. While we regret that we can’t respond to everyone, we encourage you to stay proactive in your job search.

Please feel free to apply for any future roles that align with your skills and experience. We wish you the best in finding the right opportunity and thank you for your understanding.

We can't speak for everyone but Venture Yacht Crew do not operate a blacklist or any similar list at all. This is against the terms set out in MLC2006.