princess yachts plymouth work experience

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From their beginnings in 1965, over 17,000 Princess Yachts have been manufactured. Now, they build an amazing average of 270 yachts a year. This means that every few days another yacht is completed which is incredible!

Over 21 miles of cable go into a 40 M yacht. If you laid the cable along the road, it would take you all the way from Plymouth to Totnes.

In the furniture factory, the team processes 500 sheets of wood a day. The sheets of walnut or oak are produced in Holland and the trees they are taken from are hand-chosen for Princess.

Around 7 times each month, roads in Plymouth are closed between 2.30am – 4.30am so the yachts can be pulled around the roundabouts and down streets in the wrong direction!

The biggest boat has only 13 mm height clearance under the Marsh Mills flyover and in warm weather the tyres need to be deflated to make it under and through.

Princess Yachts own 4 police cars which are driven by police officers (on non-emergency duty) to escort the boats during the early morning moves.

Princess Yachts

Princess Yachts are famous for building some of the world’s finest and most luxurious yachts, which they manufacture at their  5 different sites in Plymouth and sell all over the world.  The company is extremely proud of their Plymouth heritage – their logo includes the words “Crafted in Plymouth”. 80-85% of everything you see on a Princess Yacht has been made in-house by the company’s Plymouth teams.

“Where there’s warm weather and water, you will find Princess Yachts. There’s always a carefully crafted part of Plymouth floating around some of the most beautiful places in the world”   Antony Sheriff, Executive Chairman, Princess Yachts

Princess Yachts is also honoured to be the first luxury yacht manufacturer to officially partner with the Marine Conservation Society. Since 2016 they have worked together to support marine environments, preserving reefs and sea life for present and future generations.

Typical job roles include: Marine Engineering, Fabrication/Welding, Carpentry, Computer Aided Design,Composites, HR, Learning and Development and Finance

Apprenticeships: Princess Yachts has a variety of four year apprenticeship courses available each year including; Marine Engineering, Carpentry/boat building, CAD Development, Fabricating and Welding, Business Administration, HR, Finance, IT and Composites. Find out more about the company’s Apprenticeship Scheme below in the Get to Know Princess Yachts section.

Princess look for potential apprentices with the right attitude, the right qualities and the desire to fulfil their potential – people who can stand out from the crowd and deliver the high standards of quality and service expected in the luxury yacht business. Applicants need to be dedicated, eager to learn, and keen to combine hands on work with study in their own time.

University Placements  are available in the CAD department.

Graduate Programme : Princess Yachts also offers a graduate programme for those who are leaving university, with opportunities in Accountancy and Finance, Business Operational Management, Commercial, Sales, Human Resources, Naval Engineering, Naval Architecture, Marketing and Communications, Development

Princessyachts.com

3000 Employees Worldwide

5 Plymouth Manufacturing Sites at Stonehouse, Coypool, South Yard, Langage, Lee Mill.

Distributors in over 100 countries.

Get to Know Princess Yachts

Princess yachts apprenticeship scheme (section 1 of 2).

Princess works in partnership with the South Devon Marine Academy which has a dedicated Princess Yachts workshop, equipped with a V40 hull where apprentices can learn skills in all aspects of the business, offering a truly immersive experience.

The Scheme offers a mix of classroom-study with practical work and real experience and gives participants the chance to work with world-class boat-builders and other professionals who are passionate about passing on their knowledge.

The first year of the apprenticeship programme, is undertaken at South Devon College where apprentices complete additional marine qualifications such as RYA Powerboat Level 2, RYA Sea Survival, RYA VHF Radio Operators Licence and RYA First Aid as well as taking part in off water activities.  SEE NEXT SECTION FOR MORE INFO…

PRINCESS YACHTS APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME (Section 2 of 2)

In the third week of an apprenticeship, the apprentices can undertake a week long residential programme at Heatree, Exeter with activities such as canoeing, rock climbing and abseiling to learn new skills including team working, self-motivation and leadership.

Apprentices’ are also taken to the Southampton Boat Show where they enjoy attending the Princess Yachts stand to really help them grasp the bigger picture and understand the exceptional global luxury brand that they are now part of.

After their first year is completed, each Apprentice is assigned to work at one of Princess Yachts’ five sites around Plymouth where they will be fully trained in their specialism.

Find out more about the Apprenticeship Scheme here

LUXURY MOTOR YACHTS AND SUPER YACHTS

Princess Yachts craft a range of highly developed luxury yachts, which are said to be the envy of the yacht manufacturing and retail community.

At 40 metres long, the Princess 40M is the company’s largest yacht to date and is classed as a super-yacht. It has the luxury price tag of £18 million! Across the yacht’s three decks, there are sunbathing hideaways, a spa bath, dining areas and even a walk-in beach club.

Click here to take a 360 tour of the Princess 40M and see the amazing craftsmanship of the Plymouth yacht building teams.

The M Class super-yachts are constructed in one of Plymouth’s most historically important areas at South Yard, which is a former naval yard dating back to the 17th century and where the city’s dockyard originally began.

CAREFULLY DESIGNED INTERIORS

As you can see here, the Y85 caters for relaxation as well as speed. The flybridge has a fantastic deck for enjoying the sights and sounds of the ocean and marinas while the saloon creates an elegant space for seating and dining.

There is a careful design process for every element of a Princess Yacht. Each newly designed yacht goes through a Mock-Up stage. This is a one-to-one scale replication of the final yacht to test exactly how the new layout works, to check head heights, door way functionality, and how the furniture and materials will feel in the space. You can watch a film about the Mock-Up Stage here.

NEW PERFORMANCE SPORTS YACHTS

The R Class is the brand new range of performance sports yachts by Princess. The R35 pictured here, is a revolutionary yacht which was designed in conjunction with Ben Ainslie Racing Technologies (yes – Ben Ainslie – one of the most successful Olympics sailors of all time!) and legendary Italian car designers, Pininfarina.

This yacht can reach a top speed of 50 knots. Only the fastest swimming fish in the world could keep up with the R Class yachts.

To confuse the eye and help conceal its design until its official launch, the prototype R35 was actually covered in dazzle camouflage which was created by Plymouth College of Art student, Katie Sheppard. Take a look at the sea trial of the prototype R35 in its dazzle camouflage design here.

SEE INSIDE PRINCESS

If you would like to see more inside Princess Yachts, watch some of their manufacturing processes, find out how the yachts are tested on water and understand the company’s amazing history and craftsmanship – visit the Princess Yachts webpage here  “Inside Princess” and scroll down to watch their interesting video.

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A Princess Royal Award for Princess Yachts’ Apprenticeship Programme

by Julia Bena Aug 26, 2020 Alumni news

South Devon College employer partner, Princess Yachts, are thrilled to announce that they have been awarded a Princess Royal Training Awards for their #Apprenticeship scheme. The awards are selected by HRH The Princess Royal and the President of City & Guilds Group to recognise organisations whose training has delivered measurable business impact.

The City & Guilds Group announced on Friday, 14 August that 43 recipients from a wealth of sectors have been commended by the 2020 Princess Royal Training Awards. The already award winning Princess Yachts Apprenticeship scheme certainly deserves the recognition it is receiving, as recruitment continued throughout the Covid-19 lockdown period via Zoom interviews, and a record number of apprentices will be starting their programme at Princess Yachts in September 2020, with apprentices placed across all areas of the business.

Now in its fifth year, the Princess Royal Training Awards recognises employers across the United Kingdom with outstanding training and development programmes that have had a direct impact on business performance. Princess Yachts as a 2020 winner of this award have demonstrated ‘exceptional commitment to training, despite facing unprecedented challenges of Covid-19’ according to the judges.

Princess Yachts won the award for ‘positioning apprenticeships as a viable career choice’. Princess was recognised for having invested in its apprenticeship programme to ensure that it has a strong talent pipeline in place. Apprenticeships at Princess are open to employees of any age, with apprentices progressing their career path within the business and in fact 10% of the current managers within the business are former apprentices. Getting an apprenticeship with Princess Yachts is widely viewed as an extremely attractive career opportunity in the region.

South Devon College have helped to accommodate the growth of Princess Yacht’s apprenticeships since forming their partnership in October last year with a unique and innovative apprenticeship programme. At the College’s Paignton Campus is the dedicated Princess Yachts Learning Academy workshop facility. Inside is one of the luxury yacht builder’s V40 hulls allowing apprentices to work with the same industry-standard products and equipment, whether at their workplace or studying at the College.

“We are so pleased to be awarded a Princess Royal Training Award for our apprenticeship programme,” says Alison Thompson, Head of Learning & Development at Princess Yachts,

“the assessment process was rigorous and very different this year taking place remotely via MS Teams. However, the assessors took the time to speak to some of our apprentices and to gain a better understanding of our collaborative partnership with South Devon College who support us in the delivery of our programme. It is great to know we are setting the right standards, experience and support to our apprentices as they begin their career with us and ultimately the marine industry.”

Article originally posted on the FE News website: https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/53830-a-princess-royal-award-for-princess-yachts-apprenticeship-programme-based-at-south-devon-college

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Princess Yachts tells staff to get ready to come back to work

Luxury boat manufacturer will start to bring staff back to into its factories on Monday after coronavirus forced a shutdown

• 16:00, 17 APR 2020
• Updated 19:52, 18 APR 2020

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Staff at Princess Yachts will begin returning to work on Monday as the firm plans to be back in full production by early May.

The luxury boat maker is to begin a “phased” re-start at its Plymouth factories after stopping production on March 23 and putting employees on the Government’s coronavirus furlough scheme.

But the manufacturer is now eyeing a return to production and said about 100 members of the workforce will clock-on from April 20, and the remainder will be brought back “in increasing numbers” during the following two weeks.

The company, which employs more than 3,000 workers in Plymouth, said it has Government backing to re-start production, and stressed some if its competitors are already in production.

And it stressed it will be ensuring staff are kept safe, with safety arrangements being a key task for the first returnees to the factory floors. Shift pattern will also be changed to help ensure workers remain safe as the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet abated.

The Government announced, on April 16, that the country would remain in lockdown for another three weeks, and Princess Yachts is aiming to be up and running by then.

The company said: “While we do not know when it will be time for a full restart of operations, we are tentatively planning for this to occur within the first weeks of May.

“This date may change, in either direction, as the situation evolves. At this point, furloughed staff will resume employment as the business undergoes a controlled and phased re-start.”

The firm said “phased” means it “will bring team members back into work in increasing numbers over a period of a couple of weeks, rather than all at once”.

The firm added: “In order to prepare ourselves for full production, and in the spirit of a phased restart, we have asked a very small number of team members (fewer than 100) to return to work in the week commencing April 20.

“They will assist us in completing the installation and implementation of safety measures and start to work on boats in a distanced and safe way, so that we can make whatever alterations to our protocol are necessary to maximise the safety of the whole workforce when they return.

“Members of the management team will also attend sites to monitor progress. Some of our competitors already have restarted work in this way and we are benefiting from their experience.”

The manufacturer sent 98% of staff home and carried out a “controlled shutdown” in March after coming under increasing pressure from the workforce and public to cease operations.

But some of its competitors have continued production, the firm said, and other Plymouth plants, belonging to the likes of Wrigley, Kawasaki Precision Machinery and Rittal-CSM continued to operate.

Some workers at Babcock International Group’s Devonport Dockyard site were sent home but others have remained working on nuclear submarines.

Princess Yachts stressed that as a manufacturing company it is allowed to operate.

The firm said: “Indeed today, the Government has been very specific that businesses such as Princess can and should return to work safely, and yet we have chosen to hold back until the worst of the current situation is over and we can minimise any safety risks.”

Catch up on Princess Yachts stories

The company added: “Over the past weeks, the company has been working in partnership with the works committee to develop and implement measures to allow all of the workforce to operate in a safe environment.

“These preparations meet and exceed Government advice for social distancing and the correct use of PPE.

“Measures will include adjusting our manufacturing process by splitting shifts and moving to a five-day week pattern to enable proper social distancing, preparing areas with specific hygiene and sanitation measures, discontinuing the use of social spaces such as canteen areas, introducing more intensive cleaning regimes, and asking all employees to be vigilant with their own health, hygiene and awareness of COVID-19 symptoms.

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“This is to ensure that the extensive safety protocol that we have designed is being followed and works well in practice.

“At all times, we will comply at a minimum with Government guidance about how we should work.”

The company added: “Over the course of the next week or so, we will be circulating an overview of the new safety protocols to all employees, in advance of returning to work. The key will be that we all take them seriously and follow them.

“We are working very closely with the works committee to ensure that the correct communication is in place to inform every employee both prior to resuming work as well as on-site with clear instructions on how to behave and operate within these new requirements.”

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