ABOUT US
WHAT WE OFFER
Below is a list of what we offer should you decide to choose us to help you with your recruitment process.
We offer 1 free crew placement per year to all of our clients, however the free placement will be for junior crew members only.
After the free placement has been used, you will only gain back another free crew placement at the start of the following year. If during the year you only ask us to recruit senior crew members on your behalf, you are then allowed to carry over your 1 free crew placement into the following year and will then be allowed 2 free crew placements for that same year.
Winch Yacht Recruitment provide a full reference check service on all of our candidates before they jump onboard.
We guarantee at least 3 written confirmation email checks, alongside verbal (phone call) checks and any written references that the candidates might already have. If the candidates cannot provide any references from either the maritime industry or any previous professional positions, then we will make the client aware of the situation and will more than likely not continue with the candidates application.
Crew having the correct updated certification is a huge thing within the yachting industry for obvious reasons.
We make sure that all of our candidates have their maritime certificates and licences all up to date, as well as any visas or passports that they have in their possession. This will also include any vaccinations that they might have had, and more importantly their ENG1 medical certificate. In providing this service we can see if the documents are valid or even relevant to the industry itself.
Before we even begin to work alongside any possible clients, we always make sure that there is a legal and appropriate insurance cover policy in place for all crew members before joining the vessel.
Such a policy should guarantee that the crew members do not encounter any loss of earnings or become stranded in any port. The insurance should also include cover for any work related injuries that may occur onboard where the safety procedures were being followed correctly. We also as a company have a similar insurance policy in place for all of our placed crew members.
This is to protect the crew members from any unfortunate but possible situations, where the original SEA contract agreement was not adhered to by one or more of the parties involved.
Like the crew insurance policy, the ships registry documents are the first thing that we will ask for from our clients before we begin the recruitment process.
The ships registry will give us all that we need to know about the vessel, including the disclosure of whether it is a private or commercial vessel. As already mentioned, no recruitment process will begin until the ships registry and crew insurance policy has been provided to us beforehand.
Before any of our candidates join a vessel, we make it our duty to make sure that they have received an SEA contract from their future employer.
Once we have been given this confirmation from the candidate, we will then ask them to read through the contract thoroughly before signing it.
We will also send the candidate a document for them to sign and return to us, this document will give us proof that the candidate has fully read the contract and has agreed to the terms written within it. We also offer help to all candidates that do not understand the terms within the contract, and we are are happy to read through the contract with them and explain any particulars that they do not understand.
Having a professional looking cv in any industry plays a key role in landing any new opportunities and will separate you from the pack. Here at Winch Yacht Recruitment, we provide an advice only cv service to help all crew members both old and new, stand out to any future employers. We make it our mission to help as many candidates as we possibly can with their cvs, and we are always happy to give any feedback no matter what stage the candidate is at in their career.
Here at Winch Yacht Recruitment we feel that it is important to look after not only the current crew within the industry, but also the green crew that are looking for their first break onboard. Being ex green crew members ourselves, we understand the struggle that it takes for most new comers to be able to find their first job within this amazing industry.
Due to this we have decided to offer FREE placements and reference checks for all dayworkers and green crew that any individual vessel might require. These FREE placements will expire after 30 days and will then transfer over to the terms of either a permanent or temporary position should the vessel decide to keep the crew members for longer than the 30 day period.
After a lot of research during our time within the yachting industry, we have discovered that the prices being charged to vessels for the hire of new crew members were way too high to what we would call fair.
Here at Winch Yacht Recruitment, we have decided to offer 40% off of all permanent crew placements made by us. This will not just be a temporary offer, this will be written within our company T&C's and will be here to stay. The terms for temporary/seasonal crew you will also find within the company T&C's should you request a copy of them.
WINCH YACHT RECRUITMENT
Here at Winch Yacht Recruitment, we promise to give 200% effort when it comes to helping our clients and candidates. We are smaller and more modern compared to most current companies within the industry, and we feel that this gives us a huge advantage when it comes to helping all involved. Being a smaller company gives us the opportunity to spend more time actually speaking to crew members, and going through their cvs with a fine tooth pick to be sure that they have the credentials to match the clients request.
After only recently leaving the industry ourselves, we feel that we are very up to date with how things are run onboard most yachts at present. This gives us a clear understanding of what is expected from any future candidates that we put forward to a vessel. Coming from the yachting industry and having worked onboard ourselves, also gives us a huge gap of knowledge compared to agents that do not initially come from a yachting background and separates us from the pack.
If you are looking for a recruitment agency that is more modern, social, and quick to respond, then Winch Yacht Recruitment will be ready and waiting for you.
WHO WE ARE
TOM WINCH
My background before yachting started off in the scaffolding industry, where I worked for 13 years in London my home city. Then followed 2 years as a recruitment consultant and 5 years a security guard, also both based in London. 2012 was when I finally decided to make the move into the yachting industry, and gathered all of the basic qualifications that were required to step onboard any vessel of any size.
However due to a family incident, my entry to the industry was delayed until 2015 which was when I finally decided to head to Antibes and join up with the thousands of other dock walkers also looking for their first real taste onboard.
I managed to work my way up from a Green Deckhand to the level of a Bosun/Mate, which was where I felt that I excelled the most during my time in the industry.
After leaving the industry in early 2022, I already knew what it was that I wanted to do once I arrived back on land. With a previous background in recruitment and my onboard recent yachting experience combined, it made perfect sense to take the recruitment agency route and so I decided to create Winch Yacht Recruitment Ltd.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES
Here at Winch Yacht Recruitment, we are whole heartedly committed to addressing all complaints that come our way. Whether the complaints are about other crew members onboard (regardless of rank) or whether they are about us as an agency, we promise to follow and help you to follow all the correct procedures to keep all parties happy and to solve the issues in hand. These rules also apply if the complaint is regarding an owner of a vessel that you are currently or have recently worked on.
All vessels should have a complaints procedure onboard that is visible for all crew members to see and abide by. If after joining a vessel you find that there is no document in place, then again we would ask you to contact us so that we can investigate the situation discretely and professionally.
Follow the onboard complaints procedure and contact your Winch Yacht Recruitment agent
As mentioned above every vessel should have a complaints procedure in place visible for all crew members to see. These documents will normally give you a list of people that you should contact if you have a complaint to make, and they will also give you the order in which you are to contact them. We also advise all crew members to contact us Winch Yacht Recruitment, so that we can also assist you in trying to solve the issue.
Contact the MCA
If after following all the onboard complaint procedures and after contacting us you still have not found a solution, then we advise all crew members to contact the MCA and in some cases the Flag State of the vessel who will then give you their advice and procedures to follow. If you are unhappy with Winch Yacht Recruitments service in anyway at all, you should contact us directly first to try and solve the issue in hand. If you do not feel comfortable contacting us directly then again you will follow the procedures stated above.
If you wish to contact the MCA, then the email to contact them on is mlc@mcga.gov.uk
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES STEPS TO FOLLOW
