Quay Crew has just released The Junior Crew Recruitment and Retention Report, based on survey results from 100 Captains on superyachts between 39 m and 120 m+, which uncovers trends that every yacht should be aware of, from rising turnover rates to the factors driving talented junior crew away.
The numbers:
The average turnover of junior crew annually onboard a yacht is 37%. This rises to as much as 48% on yachts over 100m. Almost two-fifths (38%) of yachts have experienced more than a 40% turnover and for 14% of the yachts, junior crew turnover has been 70% or higher. Approximately 72% of junior crew last less than 18 months onboard; anecdotally, we believe this number is higher in reality.
What’s driving junior crew away?
Contrary to what financial logic might suggest, reducing crew turnover isn’t just about money. Even with some charter crew taking home very significant tips, many still choose to leave – often citing burnout or the need for extended time off or more simply, they want to enjoy their money! Interestingly, yachts with that generate the highest tips also see some of the highest churn. The full report digs deeper into this pattern and its impact across different yacht sizes and programs.
Leave that actually works
One finding is clear: leave packages are key when it comes to junior crew retention. Yachts that have introduced more generous leave packages over the past two years are seeing measurable improvements.
As Tim Clarke, Director at Quay Group, explains: “Incremental improvements, like moving from 45 to 60 days of leave, don’t make a real difference. But a genuine 3:1 leave pattern does have a real impact on crew longevity.” Though, the report highlights that leave is only one element of a package for crew and other factors such as onboard culture and crew downtime come into play.
A new crew mindset
Today’s junior crew often approach yachting differently. For many, it’s not a lifelong career but a way to fund a lifestyle — with social media, adventure, and flexibility driving their decisions. Yachting has evolved from being a lifestyle job to being a job that supports a lifestyle. This shift means yachts need to adapt if they want to attract and retain quality junior crew. Full retention strategy needed Leave may lead the conversation, but the data shows there’s no single fix.
What yachts can do
It’s time to rethink junior crew retention. By investing in thoughtful rotation schedules, professional development, and a supportive onboard environment, yachts can create a workplace where crew want to stay. This is turn helps to reduce costly recruitment processes and preserves onboard expertise.
The research: The Junior Crew Recruitment and Retention Report draws on survey data from 100 superyacht Captains, representing private, charter, and mixed-use programs. Junior crew are defined as those with under three years’ experience and no leadership responsibilities in either deck or interior roles.
Comment:
As a training company for new crew, the Superyacht Culinary Academy believes that the problem stems much further than this, and it is an issue that should be dealt with by both employees and employers.
Employers often shirt around the legal employment requirements, where they should be providing crew with a well-structured legal contract, outlining working hours, repatriation, leave, etc. which many captains and yacht owners do not provide. This in turn may led to misunderstanding of the employment criteria, benefits etc and in turn, will encourage ‘green crew’ to seek new positions. Yacht owners and captains are notorious when it comes to hidden agendas, and crew ore often left feeling that they are being ‘misled’ when joining a yacht, only finding out later that they are in compromising positions and difficult to get out. As the survey reports, creating a working environment when crew have space to improve their skills, manage working hours and time off, a lot can be done to improve the industry.
On the other hand, employers often skimp on salaries, where there are specific salary guidelines for crew, and often the crew are the ones being done in with compensation for the long hours they work on board. Its not always a cozy job, but the salaries are what make it worthwhile. Skimp on this and you’ll find a high crew turnaround. There are also a lot of green crew who are ‘money-hungry’, and they’ll work just to get the benefits of living the high life. Sadly, this is short-lived, and they usually see themselves out of the industry with nothing to show after a few seasons. Yacht employees should also be take care in pr3oper recruitment processes to eliminate crew who are out for ‘a ride’.