Chrysanthi Galaziou

I’m now working on a 30m superyacht in Greece as a sole stewardess

Training at UKSA helps those looking for a career in the extremely competitive superyacht industry to gain an edge to stand out from the crowd. Courses enable students looking for an exciting job, combining work and travel, to embark on a life-changing career.

After three years working in various seasonal jobs in restaurants, hotels and as a barista, 27- year-old, Greek-born Chrysanthi wanted a change of scenery. “I was keen to combine my hospitality skills and love of the sea to train to work in the superyacht industry. I’m now working on a 30m superyacht in Greece as a sole stewardess which is my first job in the industry.

My brother advised me to join the superyacht industry after he had a great experience studying an RYA Yachtmaster Offshore at UKSA in 2016. Also, a Swiss friend of mine did a Water Instructor Traineeship in 2014 and then later in 2017, she went back to UKSA to qualify as a Professional Yachtmaster Offshore. I felt reassured that UKSA was going to be the best place to train to work in the superyacht industry.

“I benefited from support from the UKSA Industry Guidance team which made getting my first job easy”

Everybody was really kind and helpful at UKSA and I learned so many things in just three weeks and I am putting everything into practice. I met nice people and had a great time; everything was perfect. I found the STCW week packed with activities from training in safety and firefighting to survival at sea to be really interesting. Powerboat training in the snow was unique and the cooking part of the course taught me invaluable skills which I’m using now I’m working as a sole hostess.

Vanessa gave me lots of positive energy

Teacher Vanessa Hodgson was a great trainer giving me all the key information and advice as well as top tips I needed to work in the superyacht industry. She filled me with lots of positive energy and confidence which was great. I would definitely recommend UKSA as you learn a lot and you can network with lots of really nice people. When it came to writing my CV and job searching, I benefited from support from the UKSA Industry Guidance team which made getting my first job easy. Lots of people know of UKSA and that really helped open doors for me.

My advice to anyone thinking about working in the superyacht industry and training on this course is to ‘just do it’; it’s a great experience you won’t regret. It can be tiring work but it’s better to be tired on a superyacht out at sea instead of in an office as I get to see lots of different countries. My ambition now is to gain experience working onboard and to continue working on my career”.

Find out more about UKSA’s Superyacht Hospitality Training course, or call 01983 203038 to talk to an advisor.