Definitely May-be

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Welcome to the May edition of the SYR newsletter. We write this having recently returned from the Palma Boat Show (check out our show report here) and with a continued optimism that this level of work is what to expect from now on. Definitely? Maybe.

Our desks are sailing along in a solid Force 4 breeze with a steady and above average number of new roles being onboarded by our recruitment team. However, our effectiveness and speed in turning vacancies around continues to thrive with our recruiters leveraging the networks they’ve built through their time with the company to place sometimes challenging and exciting new roles.

With a volume of new vacancies hitting our job board in the past fortnight we’re head down scouring the global networks for interesting new candidates. Jobseekers now is your time to shine!

In internal news, our newest recruiter Luke has flown through his probation, so do join us in giving him a pat on the back for thriving here with us and wishing him many happy years ahead.

We’re also working on some great new products and features for our clients. More to come on this next month, along with more exciting news about the SYR Team!

As always, we’re here to offer advice and practical recruitment support so if you would like to know more about our services, discuss your career or how we can help grow your business, please do get in touch.

Have a great month ahead!

Ed

TEAM UPDATES

ED | CEO | ed@sy-r.com

Our dominance in design, engineering and marinas continues at the time of writing with 10 new roles onboarded across our network and a major new client project in its final stages! I’m excited about this desk and what’s coming in the next few months. We’re shifting into a new gear and it’s all uphill from here.

Design in the UK and Netherlands is thriving. Concept design, visualisation and technical drawing roles are all available from my client network and we’re hearing word of further creative design roles to come. Designers, call me!

Design Engineer – Oxfordshire
Hot off the press is our latest role for a Design Engineer with a company that’s really going places! Seeking a Design Engineer capable of working on a range of engineering projects including mouldings, mechanical, electrical and more, this role could appeal to a marine or non-marine candidate.

With some exciting new projects due to release this year, it’s a great company to be joining where you’ll work with a team we know well on a lot of fun new boats!

Click here to apply.

SIMON | Senior Recruitment Consultant – Brokerage, Management & New Build | simon@sy-r.com

Having returned from another successful PIBS show armed with new opportunities, I’m keen to talk to candidates with a strong background in sales & purchase and retail charter. Candidates with experience in either field are preferred please, as I don’t have any openings for rookies or juniors.

Additionally, the US market is still active, particularly around yacht and fleet management, so if you’re Florida based and looking for something new I’d love to hear from you.

Yacht Manager

A major international management and brokerage house are seeking an experienced Yacht Manager to support the operational fleet.

The role covers multiple responsibilities, from nurturing and developing strong relationships with owners and their teams, to compliance and full operational support ashore.

You’ll have a sea-going career behind you, ideally in a Captain/HOD capacity but be established ashore in a role similar to yacht management.

Plenty of scope for career growth here, excellent package. Can be based London or south of France.

Click here to apply.

LUKE |  Recruitment Consultant | luke@sy-r.com

A little late to the party but this time last month I had been with SYR for 6 months! Reflecting on my journey, I’ve learned that consistency is key in this whirlwind of a role.

Key takeaways:
– Maintain strong client relationships, always.
– Embrace those challenging BD calls; they might surprise you!
– Prioritise honesty and transparency with candidates for a seamless job securing process.
Overall, a very positive month. My desk is continuing to steer towards Europe, both on a permanent and sub-contracting basis.
Breaking the mould across the Nordic region as well as keeping existing clients close. It’s been a very diverse and exciting month, looking forward to the rest of Q2!

AV Engineer – Remote UK and International Role
SYR are representing a prestigious client who focus on high end residential and superyacht projects across the world.

We need someone who has a clear understanding of audio visual, mechanical and electrical services, their integration, regulations, protocols and related technical language.

Email me to apply.

See you next month!

Yacht show silly season has begun. In the space of a week the industry hosts the MYBA Charter Show, PIBS, the World Superyacht Awards and MEDYS. The hardy few take on all four, the sensible among us attempt to visit one or two.

For SYR, it was our fourth visit to our favourite Balearic island. Palma has grown to be a major force in yachting and one of the world’s major yacht refit hubs. With warm weather for much of the year and some of the most skilled craftspeople in the Med, along with excellent access to most corners of Europe, it’s long been attractive to yacht owners of all shapes and sizes.

PIBS (Palma International Boat Show) is a great show. Still in its infancy compared to many others, it brings together the world of series production yachts, tenders, toys and equipment alongside its sibling show Palma Superyacht Show, which showcases a range of yachts and businesses in the 30m+ sector.

New for 2025 is the ‘New Build Hub’, a secondary location at the newly rebuilt Club del Mar focussing on superyacht new build. A work in progress, this year it only played host to around 12 yachts and a similar number of trade stands, however it shows promise for the wider growth of the show outside its current location which is somewhat full to the brim now.

Representing SYR this year were Ed, our CEO, and Simon, our Senior Consultant in brokerage and yacht management recruitment. We attended the show to meet with a number of our existing clients based on the island and met with a host of new businesses aiming to attract further custom.

Whilst most show reports are deliberately positive to signal a successful event, we aren’t lying in saying that this was likely our best show in the four years we’ve been in business. With so many macroeconomic challenges facing the highly sensitive yachting sector, there’s been an air of concern around industry performance especially in terms of new sales and charter. Whilst the industry has remained robust and tracking in a fairly steady fashion, those in senior roles have been quietly watching the market for signs of decline. Not so any more it seems…

As a business, SYR operate across a host of technical, operational and commercial disciplines. Our targets for PIBS were obvious. Growing relationships with existing clients and chasing down new ones. We left the show with leads on new opportunities across marinas, new build, refit, design and the OEM sector. Some with brand new clients and some within the existing client network.

With networking opportunities maximised both during the day and night (Ed was even discussing careers planning with a candidate on a morning run) we return to the office with a great outlook through the next 3-6 months of the year, keen to get stuck into a host of opportunities across the Eurozone.

But what do we think of the show as a whole?

The usual show area has remained broadly untouched, barring a few changes to the Superyacht Square and Refit & Bar areas. A tried and tested model, so why switch it up? For a second year, the Balearic Superyacht Forum has been held alongside the show. Whilst we can’t offer direct feedback as we didn’t attend, word from those who did felt it to sit a little too close to November’s Global Superyacht Forum to really hit the spot. Likewise, the New Build Hub has some huge potential and we hope to see it back for 2026, however our experience (along with those we spoke to) was somewhat flat in terms of its success in its current iteration.

We look forward to what’s already gearing up to be a busy show season, but for now it’s time to work through a mountain of business cards and job leads for our lucky jobseekers!

Setting New Standards – The SYR Newsletter

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What a start to 2025. We’re still reeling from a first quarter that set a new record for us here at SYR. With three very strong months, we’re tracking well ahead of annual targets and are enjoying the level of busy that we’re seeing on all desks.

The shining star so far however seems to be the management and brokerage sector. Despite a challenging start to the year, this sector has been very busy, highly motivated and had the appetite to move things forwards at pace. We’ve noted successes with some great new clients and find ourselves working a host of projects on both sides of the Atlantic right now.

It’s also the first month of shows for us. This month sees us attending Ocean Business in Southampton and Palma Superyacht Show in Mallorca. One show being totally new to us and the other we’re visiting for the tenth time now.

Despite its strength throughout the year, we’re seeing design and engineering take a strong position coming into Q2 and expecting to see this continue.

Lastly, we’ve recently concluded a partnership run with one of our sponsors and are offering the opportunity to sponsor the next newsletter or indeed become a guest writer with a piece of editorial. Interested? Drop us a line.

As always, we’re here to offer advice and practical recruitment support so if you would like to know more about our services, discuss your career or how we can help grow your business, please do get in touch.

Have a great month ahead!

Ed

TEAM UPDATES

ED | CEO | ed@sy-r.com

Challenges and excitement have plagued my verticals over the past month and we’re coming to the later stages of some exciting potential placements in the marinas and design spaces with further new work flooding in.

This sustained level of business is bringing us ever closer to considering further growth of the SYR team once more, which is fantastic to see. If you asked me the skillset I’m really finding in demand right now, I’d say interior or FF&E design, so if you boast these skills, drop me a line!

Head of CFD – UK
A rare role offering the chance to lead all aspects of CFD and hydrodynamics for a brand at the forefront of technical maritime innovation. With projects including hull design and foiling systems among others, this really is a chance to lead one of the best! What are you waiting for? APPLY!

Click here to apply.

SIMON | Senior Recruitment Consultant – Brokerage, Management & New Build | simon@sy-r.com

A stellar Q1 in the shoreside industry saw a significant number of new hires being made across all industry segments, both in the EU and in the US. Q2 shows no sign of slowing down, so any experienced candidates considering a change or new opportunity are encouraged to contact me directly, many of the roles I’m working on are not publicly advertised.

Yacht Manager – Palm Beach or Miami
We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Yacht Manager to oversee the operations and management of the fleet. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of compliance regulations, exceptional crew recruitment skills, and a proven track record in budget management.

Click here to apply.

LUKE |  Recruitment Consultant | luke@sy-r.com

While the UK is getting hot, so is my desk, It’s been a very prosperous and eventful Q1! Working with some exciting new clients and working in volume on current ones too! A challenging yet rewarding quarter with lots of positives to take into Q2!

As my sixth month in the business nears, it’s becoming clearer that re-fit projects are where the work is as opposed to new builds currently. This goes for both the UK and abroad as the majority of my contractors are finding LOTS of work in this space. Is the investment and desire for new builds at a standstill for the moment? Lets see how it goes!

On Board Foreman – France
SYR are representing a distinguished client at the forefront of superyacht refits based in France.
The role, under the responsibility of a Project Manager, is to take charge of the on-site organisation and coordination between the various stakeholders present on the project. Ensuring a smooth operation between builds and hitting targets effectively.

Click here to apply.

See you next month!

Introducing our latest educational partner, Navalapp.

We’re incredibly excited to announce our latest partnership with Navalapp, a fantastic source of training and education across the design, naval architecture and engineering space. Offering a huge range of extra-curricular courses I subjects ranging from Hydrodynamics to 3D modelling, programming to yacht design the Navalapp platform is home to over 3500 members and well over 1,000 students.

Offering a wide range of courses alongside mentorship, a students forum and a jobs page Navalapp is a great way to upskill yourself as a designer or engineer.

SYR are partnering with Navalapp to power their jobs page, listing all of our design and engineering vacancies through the platform whilst also being able to offer careers advice to students following course completion.

Ed Ewer, CEO of SYR:
‘We’re passionate about maritime education and being able to support the development of both undergrad and postgraduate level students. With little in the way of formal courses in further education in the maritime engineering space, Navalapp offers its members a chance to undertake focussed training on a range of topics to further bolster their CVs. It’s fantastic to be able to list our roles via their site and to be able to act as a resource to assist students on their career development.

Pablo Sopelana, CEO of Navalapp:
‘Navalapp is committed to providing global access to world-class education, training, and job opportunities in the Marine Industry. Having SYR as a partner is a tremendous opportunity. We are very excited about the synergies and value this collaboration brings to our students, as they will greatly benefit from SYR’s services, expertise, and job opportunities, which will help them find jobs and advance their careers.’

You can visit www.navalapp.com to further understand the courses on offer or reach out to us here at SYR for further information

Maritime Recruitment on a high?

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Two months completed in 2025 and SYR are reaching new highs. We’ve ended February 25% up on last year, a start which in itself was the best in our company history and isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

With green shoots across the maritime world, seeing our customers growing to either cope with increased demand or based on industry expectations is a great thing to see.

It finally feels like the challenges of the past 12-18 months are behind us and that we’re in a period of normality from which businesses can be confident to evolve and develop.

Our move to work across the wider maritime sector has been paying off and we’re noticing huge growth not only in our superyacht management and brokerage sector, but also in European design and engineering vacancies. Welcoming two new major clients to work with us has opened up a number of exciting new high-level vacancies and further proves our abilities in maritime recruitment.

New recruits are also settling into the team and SYR are going from strength to strength and coming good on our strategy for this year.

As we enter the final month of the first quarter, we’ll start to see a lot of those previously sat on the fence starting to make hiring decisions. Jobseekers, now is the time to be sending us your CV and chatting about what could be next.

As always, we’re here to offer advice and practical recruitment support so if you would like to know more about our services, discuss your career or how we can help grow your business, please do get in touch.

Ed

TEAM UPDATES

ED | CEO | ed@sy-r.com

My side of the business has remained busy since 1st January. With success in the world of marinas and high level superyacht design, I’ve enjoyed not only making some great placements, but also bringing on board some exciting new customers. Design and Engineering we’re seeing as a key growth area for 2025 and with the wealth of new roles online, we’re taking strides to network heavily in the candidate market.

Senior Interior Designer – Nice
My role of the month seeks a Senior (8+ years) Interior Designer to work with a well known yacht and residential interiors specialist in Nice. The role will see you split across both land-based and yacht interiors and give you a chance to unleash your creative skills as part of a world-renowned team. Experience working with high level interiors is essential, as is an ability to work full time in France.

Email me to apply.

SIMON | Senior Recruitment Consultant – Brokerage, Management & New Build | simon@sy-r.com

A rapid start to 2025, with 9 new offers secured for candidates across Jan/Feb covering sales & purchase, retail charter, technical and yacht management. This looks set to continue across Q2 so if you are considering a change, or are looking to develop your career then please drop me a line.

Yacht Manager – Florida  
An internationally renowned management and brokerage house is seeking an experienced Yacht Manager to help grow its portfolio of services to owners. Candidates must have experience in a similar role with the right to live/work in the United States.

Email me to apply.

LUKE |  Recruitment Consultant | luke@sy-r.com

First quarter madness as we start the final month of the quarter, I can’t quite believe how quickly the time has gone! Still keeping a steady pace across the Skilled Trades desk but Design Engineering is coming at me thick and fast. Lots of prominent specialist clients, looking for niche profiles that we at SYR are doing the utmost to showcase. A consistent and busy month ahead within the Design space, all the while Production ticking along nicely.

Electrical Design Engineer

SYR are representing a rare client who are at the forefront of accelerated research, development and delivery of maritime technology, based in Portsmouth.

• 4-month contract
• Great hourly rate
• Immediate start

Email me to apply.

See you next month!

Ed is raising money for West Wight Sports & Community Centre Trust Limited Solent Swim 2025

Not content with the Ultra Marathon that I attempted in 2024, this year I’m swimming the width of The Solent in aid of the West Wight Sport & Community Centre.

Each year I choose a sporting event to raise funds for important causes and this year, I thought I’d attempt The Swim!

Your support for what will no doubt be another tough challenge for me, would be greatly appreciated as I battle my way across a busy and sometimes pretty treacherous stretch of water!

You can find out more (and donate!) here: www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/edssolentswim

Maritime Recruitment 2025

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Happy New Year and welcome back to the crazy world we call maritime. We hope that you enjoyed the extended break with friends and family and return refreshed and ready to take on the world and indeed the job market!

We write our newsletter off the back of a very busy first week back in the office. Brand new positions, multiple placements closed off and an appetite from a lot of our market to hire across Q1. It’s looking like we’ll enjoy a similarly busy time as we did last year, with yacht management and design seemingly particularly busy right now, specifically at a senior level.

For those of you jobseeking, we’ve put together a short guide for you that you can read HERE.

With the months ahead being the first period of SYR operating across the wider maritime market we’re excited to be welcoming some new clients and visiting some new events, giving us a chance to make our stamp on these new corners of maritime and bring our network a host of new roles.

As always, we’re here to offer advice and practical recruitment support so if you would like to know more about our services, discuss your career or how we can help grow your business, please do get in touch.

Have a great January and catch up soon.

Ed

TEAM UPDATES

ED | CEO | ed@sy-r.com

Senior level roles in Design and Engineering are rife at the moment. Our European network are looking to appoint senior candidates, offering the market a range of options for those with 10+ years’ experience. Likewise, shipyards seem to be buoyant in the 30m+ sector with an ongoing order book prompting a need for skilled subcontractor labour and upper management on both temporary and permanent roles.
It’s shaping up to be a busy quarter.

Production Co-Ordinator – Italy
Join a world-renowned Italian shipyard as Production Co-Ordinator, bringing together all the moving parts across the build of 70m+ yachts and ensuring the smooth operation of both internal and external stakeholders from start to finish. A role with great long term potential, an immediate start is available, matches with an attractive salary.

Email me to apply.

SIMON | Senior Recruitment Consultant – Brokerage, Management & New Build | simon@sy-r.com

Happy New Year! We’re back up and running with some excellent commercial opportunities across the UK and the Med, focussing on retail charter and sales & purchase. If you have a relevant CV I’d love to hear from you. And keep your eyes peeled for some exclusive C-Suite roles in Q1.

Retail Charter Broker  
An exciting opportunity for an experienced Retail Broker to join one of the industry’s fastest growing boutique brokerage houses. With a truly international footprint, you’ll deliver charter growth whilst also assisting with sales and purchase enquiries with the opportunity to earn additional sales commission. This is a remote role, interviewing now.

Email me to apply.

LUKE |  Recruitment Consultant | luke@sy-r.com

Christmas may be over but it looks like the cold weather continues to rage on here in the UK but I’m back and ready for action after a well-deserved rest!

The start of the year has proved to be very productive with lots of projects lined up with existing clients. The exciting task of business development is upon us for all the prospects in the maritime industry now too. So as a gentle reminder, if you need specialist support in skilled trades, boat build design, project management and everything in between, I’m your guy!

As a quick round up, January is proving prosperous and busy for me on my desk. Mostly within skilled trades for niche marine projects, so looking forward to these finalising, all the while taking on some new roles in the coming weeks!

Commissioning & Aftersales Technician

Calling all offshore Engineers or Chiefs seeking a shore-based adventure! SYR is working with a renowned boatbuilder for a great new opportunity in 2025!
– Southampton-based
– Competitive hourly rate
– Shoreside position with travel opportunities .

Email me to apply.

See you next month!

Jobseeking can be a minefield and for some of us it’s a challenge to even work out where to start, so we wanted to create a 2025 jobseekers’ guide to help you on your way in securing a new role.

First up and pretty obvious…it’s time to dust off and update the CV. You’d be surprised how often a jobseeker calls us, chats through their search and hasn’t gone as far as updating and improving their CV. Make sure you include your current employment, key career achievements and that your CV is ideally two pages or less in an easy-to-read font.

Do some market research – You’re no doubt specialised in a specific field, so do some research into the key players in your market, companies you’d like to work for and some of their latest projects. Understanding and knowing a company before even applying will allow you to tailor a much more fitting covering letter.

Do some salary benchmarking so that your expectations aren’t too high or low – Understand your market value and where or how you could command a higher salary due to a unique skillset or experience. This kind of information can be fairly readily accessed online or through your recruiter.

Speak to a specialist recruiter in your field – A recruiter worth their salt will be able to open doors to companies you may not be aware of, rally on your side in negotiations and elevate you as a candidate during applications.

Do some solid interview prep – If you secure an interview, make sure you prepare well. Learn about the employer, prepare answers based on the job specification and above all, ensure you’ve prepared some questions for the interviewer!

Listen to your instincts – If you secure an offer of employment, take 24-48 hours to consider your position, seek the thoughts of friends or colleagues and reply in a timely and professional manner. But don’t drag out the decision-making process. In today’s market, someone else will show that bit more willing and be accepted in your place!

Of course, there’s far more to the jobseeking process than this, so if you’d like to discuss your job search in further detail, you can reach out to us here at SYR via email, we’re always happy to assist!

All I want for Christmas is a shiny new job!

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Christmas is almost upon us, and I think the industry is collectively breathing a sigh of relief after a busy yet challenging year. With two major elections and continued unrest globally, the luxury sector has faced its fair share of challenges but is showing a degree of resilience and optimism when looking to the future.

The recruitment space for the first half of 2024 was incredibly strong, however the second part of the year presented more challenging conditions. The team have remained engaged with our client base old and new, keeping placement levels at an impressive level all the way through December, where we’ve seen a resurgence in new business enquiries.

SYR has also undergone a minor facelift, with our branding receiving a tweak to reflect our ever-diversifying customer base. Our capabilities now sit broadly across the maritime sector with our expertise spanning design, engineering, manufacturing, sales and much more.

We come to the close of the year with an extra face to when we started. Luke comes to the end of his second month having made strong headway across both temporary and permanent employment, servicing a number of our key clients and identifying some great new ones to welcome to the SYR family.

Looking to 2025, we’re planning hard for a busy year with internal strategy plans in the final stages of sign-off.

For now, we wish you a fantastic break, a great new year and look forward to seeing you once more in 2025.

Ed and the SYR Team

TEAM UPDATES

ED | CEO | ed@sy-r.com

Design and Engineering has seen steady growth over 2025, and this month has been no different. We’ve welcomed an exclusive new client in the form of world-renowned studio Vripack and have closed an end-to-end executive search project in under two months, showing the power of our network in this space.

Senior Exterior Designer – Netherlands 
Join world leading design studio Vripack as their Senior Exterior Designer. A fantastic role, you’ll lead on exterior design, overseeing a small but talented junior team and crafting a range of projects up to 100m in length. Located in northern Holland, this is a long term opportunity with huge potential for the right person.

Email me to apply.

SIMON | Senior Recruitment Consultant – Brokerage, Management & New Build | simon@sy-r.com

The final quarter of the year is always busy as new roles come to market. However, not all opportunities are advertised so please do reach out if you are considering a career change in 2025.

I’m particularly keen to talk to any Sales Brokers or Retail Charter Brokers looking to move; there are opportunities both in the UK and the south of France.

Additionally, any experienced operational staff across technical and fleet management positions are also encouraged to contact me.

Yacht Central Agency Manager  
The Yacht Central Agency Manager oversees the operational, commercial and administrative functions of yachts under central agency management.

This position plays a key role in maintaining client relationships, optimising yacht performance, and ensuring the seamless execution of charter and sales operations.

Email me to apply.

LUKE |  Recruitment Consultant | luke@sy-r.com

Eight weeks in now at SYR and given the time of year and where the market is, individually and collectively we’re all still making strides here.

It’s all go here until we sign off on Christmas Eve, with plenty of interviews and placements being confirmed. There’s lots in the pipeline coming up for a positive finish to 2024 and plenty of planning too, for a prosperous 2025.

Contracting has been my strong suit so far in my short time here at SYR. The nature of skilled trades at the moment is working in our favour. No rest yet but to all those in my network, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy new year to all clients, candidates and prospects ready for a New Year, new job & new challenges!

Mechanical Design Engineer
Are you a passionate Mechanical Design Engineer keen to be involved in some of the most ambitious projects, with a focus on decarbonisation?

SYR are working with a brand leading the charge in maritime decarbonisation who are looking to bolster their mechanical engineering team!

Great role, very attractive salary package & working with some very niche/exciting projects to put you to the top of your engineering game.

Email me to apply.

See you next month!

November brings our final international event of the year, METSTRADE. I’ll be attending the world’s largest marine equipment show along with attending a number of satellite events and visiting a number of our Dutch clients. I’m still available during the course of the event for meetings to discuss your career plans or indeed hiring requirements, so do get in touch if you’d like to book a meeting.

ED EWER 
CEO
ed@superyachtrecruiter.com  | +44 (0) 7920 060 965