Hill Robinson and Trinity House are joining forces to create a new pathway for young people seeking careers as officers in the superyacht industry. Part of Trinity House’s Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme, the initiative will see Hill Robinson and Trinity House sponsor four cadets in undertaking a three-year officer cadetship, leading to Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) certification as a Deck or Marine Engineer Officer of the Watch (Unlimited).
The initiative is supported by Just Be Maritime, which will be managing the cadets, and Warsash Maritime School as training provider. Hill Robinson will be fully engaged in the cadet recruitment and selection process and successful candidates will have the possibility of employment on board a Hill Robinson-managed yacht as their careers progress.
Paul Cook, Chief Operating Officer of the Hill Robinson Group, commented; “We recognise that crew play a fundamental role in ensuring excellent operational and technical standards onboard our yachts to fully realise our client’s expectations. That is why Hill Robinson is delighted to be partnering with Trinity House to introduce newcomers to the superyacht industry and support them in achieving their career aspirations. Investing in young people is very close to our hearts, and we look forward to providing the young cadets with that first step into the superyacht industry.”
Captain Nigel Hope, Trinity House’s Director of Maritime Training, said of the new venture: “This new joint venture with Hill Robinson to match fund training for Merchant Navy Cadets on superyachts is a great enhancement to our Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme. These exciting Deck and Engineer opportunities are a welcome commitment to not only a high standard of superyacht training for a growing sector, but also to supporting those from diverse backgrounds and who would benefit from financial and professional support.”

Baked Zd
Vusi Thembekwayo – CEO of Motiv8, and Founder of The Inspiration Project, My Growth Fund and Iconoclast: At 25, Vusi Thembekwayo served on the operations board of Metcash Africa. He was tasked with launching a new division, which he built into a R461 million turnover business. He then left to launch his own business in 2013, Motiv8 his own consulting business, which he bootstrapped with speaking engagements. \”In my experience, the only way to succeed is to invest time in your own development and have \”skin in the game.\’ Time enables you to build technical ability and establishes your credibility in the market,\” says Thembekwayo. He went on to become one of the \”dragons\’ on the South African edition of Dragons\’ Den, where he was responsible for allocation over R10 million worth of investment, as well as one of the \”sharks\’ on M-Net\’s Shark Tank. In 2011, he co-founded Watermark Capital Partners, a private equity firm. In 2013, he was appointed non-executive director at RBA Holdings Ltd. In 2014, he founded The Inspiration Project, a tech enabled narrative lab reshaping the story of Africa, qualified to join the National Speakers Association of New York, and founded My Growth Fund, a fund to support business people as they start, build and grow their businesses. In 2015, he founded Iconoclast, a boutique specialist public speaker representation management agency.