The two you cannot work without
No yacht can legally employ you without both of these, and no agency will put you forward without them.
STCW Basic Safety Training
Five days, covering sea survival, fire prevention and fire fighting, elementary first aid, and personal safety and social responsibility. Delivered at approved centres worldwide and revalidated every five years. This is the single non-negotiable qualification in yachting.
ENG1 medical
A seafarer medical from an MCA-approved doctor, covering general fitness, eyesight and hearing. Valid for two years. Book it early — appointments become scarce as the season approaches, and you cannot start without one.
Deck: what changes your prospects
- Powerboat Level 2 — not mandatory, but close to it in practice. Almost every deck role involves tenders. This is the highest-value course a new deckhand can add.
- PWC — jet-ski operation, expected on any yacht carrying toys. Short and inexpensive.
- Efficient Deck Hand — the recognised step toward bosun.
- Yachtmaster (Offshore or Ocean) — the progression point before officer certification, and where deck careers start to separate.
- OOW 3000GT — the first officer ticket. This is a serious commitment of sea time and money, and it changes your career rather than your CV.
Engineering: where certification genuinely gates the job
Engineering is the department where a certificate legally determines which vessels you can serve on, so the return is direct.
- AEC — Approved Engine Course. The entry point, suitable for smaller yachts.
- MCA Y4 through Y1 — each step is tied to tonnage and engine power. Moving up a Y-ticket moves the vessels you can work on and the salary that goes with them.
- ETO Certificate of Competency — for electro-technical officers, usually built on an electrical background ashore.
Interior and galley
- Food Safety Level 2 — required for anyone handling food, which on most yachts means all interior crew. Cheap, quick, and a reason to say no if you lack it.
- GUEST programme — the recognised interior framework, with modules from junior service through to purser. Increasingly expected on larger yachts.
- WSET — wine qualifications, valued on charter yachts where service standards are scrutinised weekly.
- Ship's Cook Certificate — required for chefs under some flags. Check the flag before assuming you need it.
- Silver service and barista training — not certificates that gate anything, but they remove objections for candidates entering without yachting experience.
What is not worth paying for yet
Training providers sell packages. Some of it is genuinely useful and some of it is sold to people who do not yet know the difference.
Before your first season, the honest list is short: STCW, ENG1, and Powerboat Level 2 if you are going on deck. Everything else is better bought once you know which department you are staying in — because plenty of people who start on deck end up in the interior, and the reverse.
Advanced certification bought speculatively, before you have a season behind you, rarely pays for itself. Certification opens doors; time on board and a reputation among captains is what actually moves people forward.
Where to train
We work alongside two training partners: SALT Services, an MCA accredited STCW provider based in Edinburgh, and Seas The Day, which runs online preparation for crew entering the industry. Details on the partners page, and a fuller breakdown on training and certification.
Once you have STCW and an ENG1, register your CV and read the no-experience guide for what happens next.