Not just a reflection of prospects for yachting employees, crew recruitment data underpins insightful market analysis of the yachting industry itself. An average 100m superyacht requires around 50 yacht crewmembers. Accordingly, as the length of yachts and numbers launched increase, so does the requirement for crew. YPI CREW compiled data which suggests that the yachting industry is going from strength to strength.

Indeed, crew recruitment trends are subtly indicative of the growth of the yachting industry. Since 2013 there has been a 37% increase in yacht crew jobs. Moreover, for the second year in a row, the category of yachts over 71m in length generated more jobs than any other category, with 34% of total crew positions offered in this range. Jobs offered on 51m-70m vessels came in second, with 32.4% of available positions. The fact that this was not the case even three years ago shows that there has been an increase of 71m+ yachts on the market, each requiring more crew than the average in previous years. This is iterated by the 5% reduction of jobs in the 31m-50m category. Coherent with the global yacht market, it comes as no surprise that 89.6% of crew recruitment is required for jobs on motor yachts, and just 9.4% on sailing yachts. The consistent increase in the number and length of yachts means that there are more jobs for which to apply and more opportunities from which to benefit than in the past years.

Delving deeper into the 2016 data, 70.8% of positions offered were on board private yachts. This number justifies the advice of those recruitment agents who advise crew to target their efforts toward private vessels. Only 29.2% of available positions were offered on charter vessels. Unsurprisingly, just 4.4% of crew positions were for yacht Captain jobs in 2016.

A yacht job trend that remains consistent is the increasing number of those looking to start a career at sea. As per YPI CREW's data, 2016 saw new candidate registrations increase by 22%. The appeal of the yachting industry is undeniable – for fittingly skilled and resilient candidates with a willingness to work hard, it offers a chance to travel the world, earn good money, make friends for life and build a solid career.

Laurence Lewis, Director of YPI CREW, commented on the excellent prospects for skilled crewmembers in 2017:

"There are excellent jobs and candidates out there, the market is buoyant. The key is to be flexible and realistic - this goes for employees and employers alike. "

Discover 2019 crew recruitment data in our 2019 yacht crew trends report.