Viking Recruitment has made a presence in Palma over the last couple of months with a Pop Up office based in Mallorca.

Yacht Recruitment Consultant Katie Thornton and Yacht Crewing Coordinator Louise Hunter arrived in Palma on the 30 January, with a large number of meetings with crew and clients already lined up.  Since then they have been busy with meeting more crew and clients based in Mallorca.

For Viking Recruitment the purpose of the project was to inform industry professionals of the services that we provide, which not only includes recruitment and placement but also marine travel and crew management.  The Maritime Skills Academy, Viking’s training provider has also been of great interest, offering MCA accredited STCW courses to the industry. The state of the art training facilities include the newly opened survival pool complex in Dover as well as a modern Fire Training Ground, which is offering Helideck training in partnership with super yacht aviation consultants MAST.

Whilst based in Palma Katie and Louise have had the opportunity to visit a number of shipyards, including the service providers based in STP. This has enabled Viking to continue to maintain and build on its close relationships with existing as well as new business partners. The team were also able to spend some time on mainland Spain, visiting some of the large yachts that are berthed in the ports of Barcelona, Tarragona and Valencia.

Part of the Pop Up Palma project also included showcasing the courses on offer at the MSA, and they held a complimentary one day STCW Designated Security Course (DSD) to crew members based in Palma. Increasingly we are seeing more crew members being asked to hold valid DSD certification. The course was held on Thursday 2 March and was delivered by the Maritime Skills Academy Security Consultant Terry Atkins, an industry professional with many years experience in marine security. The course sold out in only a few days, and following the course delegates gave positive feedback.

Following the course, Viking organised a Pop Up Networking event at the Boathouse Bar and Restaurant. Working in partnership with e3, The Islander Magazine, Global Yacht Services, Burgess Marine, Heirlooms and YotSpot the pre-dinner drinks event allowed 100 senior crew and industry professionals to join together for drinks.   Katie and Louise where joined by other members of the Viking Team, including Training and Development Director, Mark Jaenicke, General Manager Paul Rutterford and Senior Yacht Recruitment Consultant Rebecca Adams. Paul commented that it was great to meet Captains, crew and service provides who we would not normally have the opportunity to meet. The setting could not have been better, held on one of the warmest days of the year so far!

So following the success of the Pop Up Palma office Viking is not stopping there, plans for other Pop Up Events are already being planned in Palma and other destinations.   Viking and the MSA will be back in Palma, firstly running another one day STCW DSD course for crew members on Thursday 20 April. Spaces are limited so book your place early. Then on Friday 21 April Viking and the MSA will exhibit at Nautifest with Katie and Rebecca attending.