Feadship

Building superyachts together

As an organisation of family firms with a history dating back to the 1800s, you’d expect the Feadship yards to know something about attracting and retaining the best staff. As well as employing generations of the same families in many disciplines as well as management, the company has long blazed a trail as an equal opportunities’ employer. The number one thing that the people invited to join the 1800-strong team have in common is a shared ambition to be one of the best in your chosen trade.

Feadship has no choice when it comes to being picky about who they employ because they design, engineer and build the most expensive and sophisticated superyachts in the world. Each new project is a complete one-off as clients have total carte blanche when it comes to every aspect of their yacht. Whether you like working with metal or wood, paint or PCs, systems or stabilisers, the key to success therefore will be your passion for perfection and the pride you take in your work.

If that sounds a little daunting, it’s worth noting that working at Feadship can become a lifelong adventure for those with the right talents and a genuine desire to grow. The figures speak for themselves: employees build up an average of twenty years of experience at Feadship and help create an average of forty Feadships.

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How is this remarkable longevity achieved? First off, Feadship is known for the way it supports staff across a wide range of in-house disciplines. There are four state-of-the-art yards in Aalsmeer, Amsterdam, Kaag and Makkum, plus a design studio and naval architect/engineering companie in Haarlem (operating under the name De Voogt). All hire both experienced staff as well as students and starters, with clear career paths stimulating the development of both new employees who wish to be trained and existing employees looking to develop themselves further.

This approach facilitates a shared and continuous improvement, along with an environment where everyone learns from each other. Staff are encouraged to formulate their own style: Feadship is convinced that giving every employee the chance to develop in their own way keeps the organisation exceptional and contributes to the high level of loyalty.

While Feadship is famous in the wider world for its awesome boats, in the superyacht business itself it has a formidable reputation as a teaching company. Dedicated work and training programmes are run from various in-house training centres which have won several major awards for the quality of their education. Students can follow a course under the vocational training programme of their choice and are given a work and training contract with the yard. They can choose between various disciplines: construction, painting, shipbuilding or interior building. Further work and training programmes support students learning to become carpenters or furniture makers.

The students include both starters and employees who’ve been working with Feadship for many years and wish to improve their skillset. For example, you could easily find a foreman from the steel department taking a course in robotic welding. Hundreds of students graduate each year with Feadship, which helps preserve the future of the boatbuilding sector as well as the continuity of the company.

Each Feadship features the very latest innovations in technology and materials. That’s why every person involved in a custom build is needed and only the best craftmanship will suffice. If you watch the time-lapse video of Lonian’s build you get a sense of the excitement involved in this line of work… Imagine being able to say “Look at that ceiling I helped make” or “I designed that part.” And the video of ViVa being transported through the countryside of the Netherlands encapsulates the Dutch roots of another Feadship that is built by people from all walks of life who share a dedication to detail and excellence. If you think you could add something to the mix, there is always room for more talent at Feadship.

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“There are yachts and there are Feadships”

Facts about
  • Number of employees: >1.800
  • Sector: Yacht building, Ship building & repair, Maritime
  • Preferred educational level: vmbo, mbo, hbo, wo
  • Field of study: Naval architecture, Maritime technology, Mechanical engineering, Ship interior construction, technical other/related
  • Career level: Student, Intern, Trainee, Starter (0-3 years), Young professional (3-5 years), Professional (5-10 years), Senior professional (>10 years)