Leading yacht crew recruitment agency, YPI CREW, is delighted to unveil its 2017 Yacht Crew Trends crew recruitment data. This company data is an invaluable resource to understand the state of yachting today and offers important information for all members of the industry. In 2016, the figures suggested the yachting industry is in a very healthy shape and this is a trend that showed no sign of abating in 2017.

From where the yacht crew jobs are to be found to what roles are most sought after, YPI CREW breaks down the 2017 figures to reveal the key insights:

For the third year in a row, the majority of yacht jobs were on yachts over 71m in length, with a 39% share of total crew positions. This is a rise of 5% on 2016 figures (34%). Yachts between 51 and 70 metres follow in second place, with 32.2% of the total share of yacht jobs. This is a slight drop on 2016’s figure of 32.4%.

In further proof that today’s superyachts are getting bigger, yachts between 31 to 50m have witnessed a 2% drop in their share of the yacht job market. This is reflective of a larger downward trend: in 2016, this same segment registered a drop of 5% on the previous year’s figures.

As reflects the global yachting market, a dominating 90.5% of yacht jobs are on motor yachts, while the remaining 9.5% of yacht job vacancies are for positions on board sailing yachts. These results are consistent with figures released last year.

In 2017, 67.7% of yacht job positions were on private yachts, while the remaining 32.3% of vacancies were for charter yachts. The lesson to be learnt for crew is to not wait around for charter yachts.

Just 3.6% of yacht crew positions were for yacht Captain jobs, a further drop on 2016’s figures of 4.4%. It is revealing to note, however, that 2017 was YPI CREW’s second busiest year in terms of Officer registration, which leads to questions about if there are going to be enough yacht Captain jobs in years to come? Along with a near-record year for Officer registration, it was also our second busiest year for engineering registration. An important side note is that most engineering candidates were looking for rotational contracts.

A record number of new interior crew registration was reported in 2017, 19.6% more than the previous year. In fact, the number of total new candidate registration has increased by 15% in the least 12 months and by 37% over the last 24 months. Yachting is an industry in expansion.

For YPI CREW as a company, 2017 was a milestone year as well. Last year saw its highest number jobs ordered and placements made in 15 years of trading, including a 6% increase in terms of jobs in the last 12 months. A huge congratulations to the whole team at YPI CREW on this achievement.

Laurence Lewis, Director of YPI CREW, comments:

“2017 was a busy year with record numbers of jobs and crew registrations, which is the sign of a healthy industry. However, this positive big picture should not detract from the fact that the yachting employment market in remains tense with a great discrepancy between job offers and crew expectations and between required skills and skills available on the market. More than ever, the advice for employers is to work closely with well-established recruiters who know their markets well and to follow their advice. Already, 2018 has started on a fast pace, so here’s to a great season for all.”

Author: Chrissie McClatchie