There may be hints of recession approaching the leisure yachting sector, what with interest rate rises and a slowing housing market, not to mention a rise in the cost of marine diesel, but one area of the boating world that is booming, apparently, is the rarefied sphere of the superyacht.
With qualified crew for in short supply and demand for luxury boats at an all time high, a new training academy has been established to help keep captains and owners afloat.
Flagship Superyacht Academy (FSYA), a British-based academy partnered with the Royal Navy, will be launched at the Monaco Yacht Show, to be held from Wednesday to Saturday next week.
It aims to train some of the 3,000 extra crew members said to be required in the superyacht industry this year alone. FSYA will provide a range of accredited training programmes that mirror the absolute standards of the Royal Navy and are tailored to meet the industry's specific needs.
They will encompass a wide spectrum of crew training requirements, including navigation, engineering, medical care, stewarding, and the full range of safety and specialist training, such as aviation and security.
Through FSYA, yacht builders and owners can access the Navy's custom built training facilities, including state-of-the-art fire fighting training facilities and the renowned Damage Repair Instructional Unit - a sea survival simulator which dramatically replicates onboard flood damage situations.
Sir Tim McClement, the newly-appointed managing director of FSYA, and a former Royal Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief-Fleet, says: “The shortage of well trained superyacht crew is a major headache for the industry. What we uniquely offer is 'whole crew training', which will help captains and owners to form their teams into cohesive units, capable of delivering the exceptional service expected in this industry.
“We will also work directly with individual crew members, enhancing their career prospects through high quality role-related and management training. It doesn't matter what you want to be: a deck hand, a captain or cordon bleu chef - this industry has some exciting and potentially very rewarding opportunities.
“With the superb training resources of the Royal Navy at our disposal, and its global reputation for maritime training excellence, we expect significant interest in our new capability.”
Flagship Superyacht Academy is part of the Flagship Group. Flagship Training Ltd was formed in 1996 when a 15 year contract was signed with the UK Ministry of Defence for a partnering agreement with the Royal Navy.
Flagship's initial role was to market the Royal Navy's training capability to overseas navies, related maritime customers and to the industry as a whole.
Flagship is based in Portsmouth. It currently employs 1,600 staff and has annual turnover approaching £150 million. For further information visit www.flagshiptraining.co.uk
