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Superyacht jobs market update – Q2 2023

Tim Clarke, Quay GroupTim Clarke
2 min read

As HODs settled in for the summer season, junior crew recruitment ramped up in the second quarter of 2023, representing more than 70% of superyacht jobs for Quay Crew.

This is a third more than in the first three months of the year, which is also reflected in the slightly lower average salary of €4,965 and fewer roles offering rotation. However, when comparing junior crew salaries from Q1 to Q2, they remain largely unchanged, with less than €100 euros difference.

A particular highlight was the 175% uplift in land-based placements within our maritime and private residence departments, many of whom were going into their first shoreside role since leaving yachting.

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This quarter, 5% of our roles were couples and 7% of placements were green crew. Chef roles were also 57% up from Q1.

The average monthly salaries by department were as follows:

  • Captain – €11,830
  • Deck – €3.953
  • Engineering – €5.488
  • Interior – €4,504
  • Land – £5,618

The number of superyacht jobs onboard smaller yachts more than doubled, making up 19% of placements in Q2 compared to 8% in Q1. There was also an increase at the top end though, with 4% more jobs onboard 100m+ superyachts.

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Just 3.5% of yachts recruiting in Q2 were charter only. Compared to Q1, 10% more private yachts were hiring crew while over a third (36%) of yachts operate both commercially and privately.

With another 1,500+ new candidate registrations, it’s great to see that many of the opportunities in the last three months have been for junior positions. The appetite for green crew is certainly on the rise, especially for those with sought-after secondary skills such as carpentry, videography, massage and beauty therapy.

The couples placements this quarter were in part due to the increase in jobs on smaller yachts, which tend to be more open due to cabin arrangements.

With July well underway, we’re expecting another busy quarter. Interestingly, we are starting to see Captains and HODs planning recruitment well in advance, with jobs already being worked on for later in the season.

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