Spring 2008, Fort Lauderdale.

Growth continues to be strong within the luxury yacht industry. New construction continues to rise and the number of jobs within the industry continues to grow far faster than new crew can be trained to fill them. Therefore we continue a phase of rapid advancement for new crew and rapidly increasing wages for established crew.

Since Luxury Yacht Group opened in 2001 we have now registered over 25,000 crew and average over 200 crew who either register or check-in online every day.

At the time of writing this the numbers of crew looking for work through the com site are –

 Whilst these strong numbers do indicate a positive supply of crew the reality is that once you filter through the numbers and our crew agents select the best three possible candidates for your position, that candidate will most likely have been considered for three other positions.

Luxury Yacht Group currently sees a large number of job orders for the following positions –
            Entry level stewardess
            Experienced and Licensed Engineers
            Licensed First Officers
            Licensed First Mates
            Licensed Officer of the Watch
            Chief Stewardess

If you are trying to locate a candidate to fill any of the positions above I strongly recommend that you make the hiring decision rapidly once you find a good candidate. We have recently seen a large number of “almost hired” scenarios where a good candidate was under consideration but was hired away from another similar yacht that made the job offer faster.

Once a good candidate has been found I recommend making a job offer within 48 hours of interview and make that offer conditional upon probationary period, background screen and drug test. Have an employment agreement ready for the candidate to review and sign when the offer is made.

There have been no rule changes within the past few months regarding crew licensing. We continue to see requests for licensed crew across the full licensing range. Of note at the moment are –
SSO – Ship Security Officer. One is required onboard each ISPS compliant yacht and it is a role usually assigned to the first officer. ISPS came into effect July 1st 2004.
Basic STCW – Completing a basic STCW course is the first step for any new crew member to complete. This shows that they are serious about the industry and the training gives them some basic life saving and fire fighting training. If you are hiring an entry level candidate ask them to complete this course prior to starting onboard.
Engineering licensing – There is a significant shortage of licensed engineers, particularly for the larger vessels that require a licensed 2nd engineer. In many cases we are recommending hiring a licensed second engineer with commercial licensing and experience. Most licensed engineers with yacht experience will not take a 2nd engineer’s position as they are able to work as a chief and earn more money.

Longevity is probably the single most important attribute that we are asked for from employers and with the strong growth in the industry probably the hardest to find. We are seeing more employers offer year end bonuses and improved education plans to encourage crew to remain onboard for longer. I recommend the following basic conditions of employment to encourage crew to remain onboard for longer –

1. Competitive salary
2. 4 weeks vacation per year
3. Up to 2 weeks extra time off for training per year
4. One flight paid for each year
5. 13th month salary after 12
6. Extra time off – unpaid – when requested
7. Health insurance
8. Dental insurance

Job sharing has been talked about a great deal in recent months but we only see successful job sharing positions in the engine room roles onboard very large yachts (over 170’).

Sadly, we are seeing more frequent requests for drug testing onboard yachts and the rate of positive tests are alarmingly high at 17%. Illegal drug use is a significant temptation for yacht crews and the use should be of no surprise for anyone within the industry that there are drug users’ onboard yachts. The crew has a relatively high disposable income and is usually living in a vacation area where law enforcement often turns a blind eye to recreational drug use. For the employers this drug use causes significant legal and financial liability.

To close on a positive note I am pleased to report that Luxury Yacht Group will be opening an office in the South of France in April 2006. The office will be staffed by crew who have worked within our management fleet for the past three years and wish to move ashore. The French office will offer full sales, charter, yacht management and crew placement services like our Fort Lauderdale office.

Please call me with any questions or comments and I look forward to supporting your yachting activities.

Yours faithfully,

Rupert Connor
President, Luxury Yacht Group LLC