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Raising the Bar formed in 2021 as a Thinktank with the intention of “identifying issues and putting forward suggestions of ways to improve our industry”. In 2023, their ideas contributed to the creation of industry career maps on the website Superyacht Industry Careers. All of this is to help crew manage their maritime goals, and to fulfill Raising the Bar’s aspirations – engaging, inspiring & retaining Superyacht talent.
We spoke with the mind behind the website, and founder of Impact Crew, Karen Passman, to find out more.
About Raising The Bar
Raising the Bar consists of a diverse group of Superyacht industry professionals. They have researched and identified issues in the industry in order to find ways to improve it, such as why crew suddenly leave positions, the true cost of crew turnover, and how to aid crew in understanding how to progress their career with realistic expectations.
Their new career maps website is supported and hosted by The Superyacht Alliance for Professional Standards, a group of industry associations.
“[We want to] highlight the potential careers to crew not just onboard but onshore, so that we can retain Superyacht talent – and to help manage expectations regarding the pace for career progression”
Why Create Superyacht Industry Careers?
Raising the Bar identifies a key problem in the Superyacht industry – the loss of valuable crew.
The Thinktank reflects on the industry’s knack for attracting amazing individuals, but not for retaining them, neither onshore nor onboard. Keeping these individuals in the industry is just as important as recruiting them, because there are so many skills, knowledge, and passion that ex-crew can bring to the industry.
By creating the website, Raising the Bar addresses the issue of retaining talent, aiming to inspire people to examine any and all potential career paths. As Passman explains:
“[We want to] highlight the potential careers to crew not just onboard but onshore, so that we can retain Superyacht talent – and to help manage expectations regarding the pace for career progression.”
What You’ll Find On Superyacht Industry Careers
The website lays out career maps, which include:
- Qualifications outline
- Recommendations for how long to stay in a role (before progressing)
- An overview of compulsory and recommended qualifications
- Character attributes that crew ought to develop for each role
It covers every onboard position and for every experience level, ranging from entry-level deckhand to the most senior positions.Working with the Superyacht Professional Standards Alliance, members of Raising the Bar will create
shoreside career maps and recommend routes for transitioning from ship to shore.
On behalf of Raising the Bar, Passman states:
“We hope that training schools, recruiters, management, and senior crew will all use the career maps to guide crew”
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