HOLDING POSITION

As the 2021 Mediterranean season ramps up, we listen to some advice from our recruitment agency friends on how best to land your next job oboard or even how to manage the transition ashore after a career on the open seas Words: Claire Griffiths

Like lanternfish in the murky depths, recruitment agents have a way of separating the seagrass to get a glimpse of what lies ahead. It’s in this market sector where the rippling effects of hire & fire, energetic activity or industry slumps are netted and noted to give an idea of what’s really going on beneath the glistening surface. And here is what our experts have to say about the coming year ahead.

Niske Haremaker of MYyachtcrew based in Holland is in buoyant mood and says, “Based on what I hear I am expecting a very busy Med season where a lot of charter clients will charter a bit extra and owners will want to use their yachts a lot: Kind of to catch up on last year’s miss. Regular testing will hopefully relax the restrictions in popular yacht hubs.” But she thinks the yachtie events and shows will and should wait another year. “Even though I miss these immensely. To me it sounds like a far off thing from the current locked down Netherlands.”

Searchlight Crew is looking forward to a brighter year ahead with more movement of crew, job openings as more new builds are released. Says Searchlight’s Tara Broomhead, “Hopefully the EU gets a move on with the vaccination schemes so more crew are protected and can therefore join quicker and not have problems with travel and quarantines.” Chloé Collet at YPI Crew says this year has kicked off well with activity across the board. Sam Thompson warns that we should expect more of the same uncertainty as last year, “The owners are still hiring but delaying and being more localised in their hiring patterns.”

“I’m expecting to see big surges in recruitment within the shore based yachting industry in response to a surge in spend in the market over the remainder of 2021,” says James Ward, CEO of Marine Resources. He adds, ‘I think there will be skill shortages in technical roles like Boat Building, Design and Engineering until businesses become more competitive in the salaries that they pay against competing industries. But overall a lot of opportunity for people looking for a new job.”

BENDS & TRENDS Tara Broomhead at Searchlight Crew and Chloé Collet at YPI Crew both notice that current recruitment placements are very much right-time, right-place focused, so luck plays a role in that longed-for leap up the metaphoric mast. Says Tara, “Yachts want crew that are located close to the boat or in the region/ country for ease of employment and travel restrictions.”

Adds Chloé, “So if you’re surfing in Costa Rica, make sure you tell us. That just might be where you land your next job!” Zoom

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interviews also spiked, for obvious reasons. Sam Thompson of JMS Careers has noticed that people are less willing to commit to long term employment contracts and crew are staying put in positions, concerned for future employment.

Effrem Leigh’s latest trend is personal; he recently relaunched his website and services so that now www.yachtchefs.com will act as a jobs board although he will continue to offer agency services and career advice to chefs.

“Sadly,” he says, “Many chefs lost their jobs due to Covid. I also think that social media will continue to play a key role in recruitment. Captains will allow their chefs, for example, to post adverts for sous or temps online. Just watch out for data protection registration, be careful of job scams and never pay an agency to help you find a job, it’s against EU law,” he warns.

James Ward is CEO of land-based jobs recruitment agency Marine Resources. The company recruits across multiple marine sectors, including design, engineering, technical, marinas, build and refit, sales and marketing, and executives. He sees companies hiring more opportunistically instead of reactively filling empty posts. He says, “Businesses are planning ahead more on the roles that they are looking for, and there’s an appetite for getting the best talent possible in the business and not being restricted by location. Clearly remote working works and it’s made businesses much more open minded in hiring from further away or even internationally where they wouldn’t have done before.”

ROTATE Remote working is one thing, but what about the ever sought after rotational job? Is it on the rise and within your grasp at last? Niske is positive: ‘I believe that rotation is the way forward for all senior/HOD positions onboard. This is the best way to keep your crew happy and provide them with a good work/life balance especially on busy charter yachts or yachts with owners who live onboard.”

But Tara at Searchlight is less optimistic, “To be honest I don’t think rotation positions are on the increase, not that I’ve seen.

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Crew want more rotation but unfortunately as in previous years owners aren’t so happy to pay for two crew members. Especially if both crew member prefers to be paid twelve months of the year and aren’t willing to take pay cuts. In captains, engineer, chef positions it’s more common and in the higher levels but not for the standard crew such as stewardess and deckhand.”

Covid of course has not helped to make the case for more rotating posts and Effrem says it has prompted some chefs to take permanent positions. “It’s the older and more experienced chefs who tend to want rotation and it can help to keep a good chef on board.” “Rotation is being considered more and more to maintain longevity onboard and that’s across the board,” says Chloé Collet, “but, last year some yachts removed rotation, to keep costs down because of uncertainty about how much the yacht would be used. Rotation is usually only for senior roles.”

NETTING THE NEWBIES Good news. Yachting is still netting high numbers of candidates ready to reach the first rung on the yachting ladder. “Greenies are definitely up,” says Niske. “Up upper uppest! And it’s greenies from all over the world, especially South African.” Niske also has a lot of applications from cruise ship and aviation crew wanting to break into the yachting industry. Another reason behind this surge in applicants she reckons could be down to the TV series, ‘Below Deck’. “I am constantly asked if the show is based on true events!”

Chloé has also seen a huge soar in ‘Green’ CVs with a 13% rise in crew registration last year. Tara is carefully optimistic saying new applications have started well this year but travel restrictions won’t make it easy for crew arriving into Europe.

For land-based roles in the marine industry James Ward advises crew to really understand the skillset that is relevant to the shore based industry. He says, “Take some time to re-design

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your CV. Invest in your training and development for shore side positions. Coming shore side is essentially a career change and that takes a bit of time to really understand what you’re going to do. Accept that you might have to take one step back before you take two steps forward.”

BREXIT Niske speaks for most of his confrères regarding the impact of Brexit on crew and their jobs, “Where there is a will there is a way. And we all need to get ourselves educated.”

Says Tara, “Brexit will be a stumbling block for some but as long as you stick to the rules of 90 days in the EU and then leave for 90 days. Or obtain a Schengen visa to work. Some crew in France, for example, have applied for the carte de séjour.”

“We’re waiting to see the implications,” says Chloé. “Regulations are different depending on where you enter the EU. Our advice to crew is stay informed and be sure to keep your personal

position in order.” Sam Thompson sees Brexit issues developing once people stop focusing on Covid19. “The lack of new crew from other countries means people are still being hired from the UK. I think crew are still unsure of what they are required to do with regards to getting visas to enter the EU and work, also what to do once here.”

CHANGE IN REQUIREMENTS “Crew skill requirements just got even more specific,” says Niske at MYyachtcrew. “I love it when I place a job opening that reads ‘MYyachtcrew is currently after a deckhand/kite instructor/drone pilot with their YachtMaster’, and then actually get amazing applications for a strong shortlist to put forward and nail it!” But we’re thinking that, like the rain in Spain, ‘that hardly ever happens’. She adds, “Nurses and stew/masseuses are a rare but very sought after breed. These are definitely extra skills that will open doors that stay closed for others.”

‘Steady as she goes’might well be the mantra for the coming months. If you’re in a job, keep it; if you want a job, luck-up and look around you; the lanternfish have spotlights on some good opportunities. And extend your skill base as wide and weirdly as possible!

No matter what size of crew you may have or whatever the nationalities of the crew might be, the importance of having a set of compliant documented crew HR policies cannot be over emphasised.

Whilst the legislation governing employment differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction most of that legislation shares a simple concept, treating individuals fairly and reasonably. In simpler terms a guiding principle is to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself.

The flag of the vessel will obviously dictate the terms of the Seafarer Employment Agreement and to some extent the key policies that need to be in place but it is always advisable to add others to cover of as many aspects of the employment relationship as practicable.

Like all relationships the employment relationship may be happy and easy going but as we know that can change in an instant and unfortunately that is where a policy and supporting procedures need to be robust.

Documenting HR policies is an easy way to help manage a workforce because if it is written down and each crew member has seen that and ideally signed to the effect that they have seen and understood those policies, when it comes to management, reference can be made to the agreed policies and procedures.

It shouldn’t only be the major matters in a working relationship that are documented, but also the day-to-day simple things, such as the use of personal mobile phones whilst on duty, keeping areas clean and tidy, appearance etc. It should all be laid down so that there is no room for doubt.

The management of people is a complex area and the more of the relationship that is documented and agreed from the outset the greater the reduction in scope for argument and interpretation of the ‘rules’. People being people, even when you think that you have it all documented, it is better to cover this in a comprehensive handbook and minimise the areas of interpretation! HR policies and procedures should be referenced in any employment agreement so that they form an integral part of the contract which is why it is important that when onboarding crew they have sight of the hand book and are given time to read and understand the contents and then sign this off to the effect that they have done this.

When engaging with crew on various employment and HR matters, it is always useful to continually encourage them to refer to the HR policies themselves. This helps to ensure that crew remain aware and familiar with the content of the policies and procedures.

At the Voyonic Group we have a senior management team with a wealth of experience that specialises in HR management. We can work with clients to create a tailored approach best suited to their requirements. Our role helps you to not only find the best crew but to also ensure that you run a happy team and retain those crew members and keep crew turnover to a minimum.

Our role helps you to not only find the best crew but also to ensure that you retain those crew and keep crew turnover to a minimum

For more details Tel: +44 (0)1481 711828 or visit www.voyonic.com