What qualifications may be needed?

Naturally the higher the position you hold on board, the more qualifications, paperwork and experience you will need. The minimum legal requirement is outlined in the section where each job is described in The Jobs Available. Until comparatively recently (1995) it was only deck officers and engineers who were required to be qualified. This is no longer the case and there are a vast number of courses available to teach you everything from the basic rudiments of sailing upwards. Some of these courses are of exceptional standard and some are a waste of time and money. It is important that the course you undertake is recognised by an official governing body. We recommend the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) recognised courses. RYA courses are available at over 260 centres in 22 countries outside the UK. www.rya.org.uk.

The MCA Says
To be sure that your certificates are accepted by the MCA you should only take approved  courses where the certificates are issued under the authority of the MCA. The four basic elements of training are accepted from most STCW countries (see MSN1802).
RYA  Yachtmaster Certificates need “Commercial Endorsements”. Speak to RYA. Some other countries large yacht certs are accepted by the MCA for the issue of CEC (Certificate of  Equivalent Competency) (see MSN 1802). Merchant Navy certification is nearly always accepted. Foreign COC holders MUST have a CEC issued before use on a UK registered yacht.  See MGN220.

Courses
As most readers of this book are entering into the industry as complete novices, there are a number of courses that you can do that will tip the scales considerably in your favour in terms of finding a job without actually investing an awful lot of time and money. The first is the STCW recognised Basic Safety Training (BST) programme; the next is a good quality competent crew certificate and then finally, for those with some sailing experience wanting to enter into the industry at a higher level, there are the RYA Yacht Master courses.

Obviously much will depend on the job that you are after, naturally someone looking for a job as a chef will be expected to know far less about crewing than a deckhand. Nonetheless this book is all about making yourself employable.