Catering at sea
Even with the diminishing size of most ships crews, there is still a requirement on most ships for a professionally qualified ships 'cook'. Today you would often find such roles filled by individuals who have undertaken catering training ashore and who only considered working onboard a ship after completing training. Candidates interested in this field should contact companies or manning agencies directly to identify available opportunities. Whilst some specialist and safety training will be required this would normally be organised by the employing company.
Cruise vessels will of course have considerable requirements for additional personnel to undertake all manner of roles to meet the high demands of their paying passengers. Whilst the traditional hotel services roles will be the first to be considered, many other roles will be found on the largest vessels from nurses to hairdressers, croupiers to photographers. Such requirements will often be filled by specialist agencies to which candidates must directly apply. Other specialist vessels have requirements directly related to the specialist role of the ship, with scientists required on research vessels,from the geologists who make sense of the data collected on survey ships to the marine biologists and many other roles found in niche areas of the industry.
Read about Training and Career Progression for the Other Entry Routes.