Bluewater Is In Pole Position For Yacht Crew Training

Why not enjoy a career on the open sea and skip all the hassles of an office job? With a starting salary of €2,500, including food, clothing and living expenses, working on a yacht has its advantages…

Of course, there is a downside of long hours and the work can be hard and demanding. You also need a good level of English and above all you need to hold the basic safety certificates required by the ‘STCW’ international convention. This is the essential passport to embark upon a career in the world of superyachts.

This training can be found in Bluewater’s course prospectus. They offer programmes tailored to all the different departments on board, from entry level deckhands and engineers, through to captains and Chief engineers, with specialist maritime hospitality training as well. For this Bluewater has a range of classrooms equipped with specialist equipment like bridge and fire simulators and engineering workshops. In 2016, they sold 4,300 course places with trainees from all over the world; South Africa, Australia, Eastern Europe and beyond. All training on the Côte d’Azur.

The company started as a crew agency then expanded its operation into training for all professional disciplines found onboard a yacht and has become one of the world’s leading specialists. They also organise competitions, such as the yearly chef competition, much followed by the sector’s culinary professionals competing for the best chef jobs. Founded by ex-Royal Navy officers, Bluewater was attracted to Antibes because of the great potential of its superyacht marina. The company has since set up in Palma de Majorca and in 2016 merged with two competitors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida - the superyacht mecca of the Americas - the training provider ICT and Crew Unlimited, a recruitment agency.

Contract with the Education Nationale

However, Antibes continues to be the Mediterranean’s superyachting hub. The projected training campus, part of the planned modernisation of Antibes’ two marinas by its new operator, the Nice Chamber of Commerce, will enhance this even more. The campus should allow the different training providers to work together. We counted no less than eight schools specialising in crew training in Antibes. But Bluewater is in pole position having just established the first partnership with the ‘Education Nationale’. It will allow students from the lycée professionnel Jacques Dolle, which offers maritime training, to have a pathway into the world of yachting. Up until now this has barely been available to young French people. This year three high schoolers are going to follow a pilot traineeship administered by Bluewater.