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Seahub have announced another round of their exciting engineering grant for 2023, focusing again on the importance of mentorship within the yachting industry.
Importance of mentorship
The importance and value of good mentorship in yachting is fast becoming more recognised within the industry. Junior crew members can often feel like deers in headlights when it comes to breaking into, and subsequently understanding the route to a long and successful career in the industry. Unfortunately, many inexperienced crew members are burned by bad experiences and may receive lack- lustre advice on turning what may have started as a great adventure into an illustrious career.
“The impact a positive mentor can have on a young crew member is immense”
Both ex-superyacht engineers, Sam Wheaton and Matt Hyde of Seahub understand the importance of good mentorship in the yachting industry, so much so that they created a grant for young yacht engineers that allows nominated hopefuls to gain access to a raft of resources to help advance their careers and troubleshooting capabilities.
Aside from continuing to grow their platform with Seahub, mentorship in yacht engineering is an area that the proactive duo put their energies into, a cause that they are clearly passionate about:
“The impact a positive mentor can have on a young crew member is immense. There are so many routes to success and tough lessons along the way that if some of these can be shared early on, it can make a profound difference”
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Rare Opportunity For Yacht Engineers
The first Seahub engineering mentorship grant was awarded to Jackson Pinney, of M/Y Aurora in 2021, who called it a ‘rare opportunity’. Pinney was granted $3000 towards engineering courses at the school of his choice, access to Seahub’s database of OEM manuals, and education on PMS.
Additionally, Pinney was given access to a vast network of contacts formulated by Wheaton and Hyde after 20+ years of combined experience in the Superyacht industry. Ongoing support and engineering advice were also at the disposal of the mentorship winner, an undoubtedly invaluable aspect of the program.
The initial round received over 75 applicants, including crew that had applied themselves, and others who were nominated by their fellow crew members. Wheaton said of the first round:
“One of the biggest surprises was the number of nominations we received from Captains who wanted to put their engineers forward. Captains included stories of engineers who had saved a charter with an out-of-the-box repair that ensured a charter went smoothly. ”
Mentorship Program 2023
After the success of the first program, Seahub will follow a similar format for round two, launching the competition globally. The second round welcomes applications from yacht engineers and other superyacht crew members who wish to nominate a deserving candidate. Wheaton states that “This year’s candidate will ideally be towards the start of their career and have plans to be involved in the yachting industry long term”.
This year’s recipient of the grant will receive a $3,000 contribution towards training, as well as access to Seahub’s database of manuals and technical data sheets (of over 3,000 files). These resources can be utilised to implement maintenance plans and troubleshoot issues as the candidate advances through their career, Wheaton explains:
“We use [these resources] to create and implement maintenance plans so as the recipient of the grant advances through their career, they have an idea of what a good maintenance plan for a vessel that is 40m, 50m, 60m, 70m etc looks like”
Seahub’s unique engineering grant is an exciting and invaluable opportunity for promising yacht engineers to excel in their careers, for more information on how to apply, or to nominate a fellow crew member, visit the Seahub website or email: info@seahub.com.au
