Hard work always pays

Spring is finally here. That means, hello to warm sunny days, hello to beautiful flowers and hello to all the summer clothing that is about to hit the store!

And as much as we love Spring, we didn’t come here to talk about that, we came to talk about Superyacht Stewarding, particularly one of our Students, Shannon Botha, own experience in the yacht industry.

We hope you enjoy this story as much as we did and that it won’t stop your own dreams of working on a SuperYacht.

Here is Shannon’s Story

Hello to all Yachting crew,

My name is Shannon , I’m 31 years old and I come from Sunny South Africa.

I recently decided to end my career in Marketing, after working in the corporate world for over ten years, I always found myself daydreaming about travelling and getting back to the ocean.

In 2013 I worked on a large Cruise Liner known as Princess Cruises. I always wanted to travel the world and work at the same time. I’m a qualified Beautician and have a passion for people from all over the world. I began my journey in a luxurious Spa onboard, as a Senior Aesthetician in a team of 30 crew members.

My year onboard was probably the best experience of my lifetime. Waking up every morning in a different destination, and the ocean surrounding you daily was my idea of paradise and luxury.

Since being back in South Africa, I often craved living and working abroad again, which is why I decided to join the yachting industry. I completed the necessary courses and particularly enjoyed the IAMI Guest Programme at Trilogy Luxury Training in Umhlanga. As a new member of the yachting industry, it was a necessity for me to learn and understand what responsibilities a Stewardess needs in order to be successful.

I completed my courses just before the Covid-19 lockdown, and have been stuck in SA. I knew what I had given up to get back into the industry, so I spent every waking hour registering and applying for jobs with various agencies on their Websites and Facebook pages.

After many many application declines due to the pandemic, I persevered and never gave up on my dream. Finally, in August I was hired to work in the Bahamas on a 37m Private Yacht. 

I cannot explain the excitement and joy you feel, after so many hours of hard work and persistence. 2020 has taught me to never give up, and like the saying goes ‘Hard work ALWAYS pays off.’

The world awaits….only you can change your destiny!

Hard Work Pays off

How amazing was that story! It gave us such hope and determination to continue to work hard in this season.

We know that this year may not have been what you expected. But we also know that hard work pays off. Just take it from Shannon.

If her story really inspired you and you would like to hear more on how you can sign up for the IAMI Guest Programme, you can head to our Contact Page and one of our friendly coaches will assist you.

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