Organisers, speakers and attendees have heralded the first ever British Marine and ABYA Academy Practical Yachts Brokers training course a great success.
Aimed at Yacht Brokers with a degree of industry experience at listing and selling boats, the sell-out two-day course, which took place on 9-10 November, saw 24 delegates come together to take a deep dive into the world of the yacht broker.
Attendees took part in in-depth discussions on the subjects of Marine Law, Insurance, Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC), VAT and Recreational Craft Directive (RCD); alongside exciting new topics including selling techniques, conflict management, and how to use social media and digital marketing to maximise sales to help give them that competitive edge.
Course participant Richard Roberts from The Yacht Market commented: “If you have a brokerage yourself, this is an essential course to go on. ABYA and British Marine running this course together, has been fantastic. The professionalism has been wonderful and I’ve learnt so much. I can now go back and help my clients even more. I would wholeheartedly recommend this course.”
While Nick Blois from Parker Adams added: “I found this course really, really informative, with a lot of information. It was really good to collaborate with a lot of similar people within the industry; it was really insightful. I would absolutely recommend this course.”
Designed collaboratively by the Association of Brokers and Yacht Agents (ABYA) and the British Marine Boat Retailers and Brokers Association (BRBA), the course was delivered by a number of industry expert speakers including:
- Peter Norris – Network Yacht Brokers and ABYA Chairman
- Ben Nichols – Clipper Marine Ltd, UK Boat Brokerage
- Lucy Goff – LA Marine, Marine Lawyers
- Dean Shaw – Coleman Insurance, marine insurance
- Ben Sutcliffe-Davies – Ben Sutcliffe Marine, small craft surveyor
- Simon Anslow – VAT services, PKF-Francis Clark, Chartered accountants and business advisers
- Alasdair Reay – HPi Verification services Ltd, UKCA certification approved body
- Kris Garner – CGI Finance, Marine Finance experts
- Alastair Walton – Conflict management, social media, marketing and AI expert and ex-chairman of BRBA
- Sarah Harrigan – Smartsearch, Anti Money Laundering Services
“With the brokerage industry undergoing fresh challenges, a joint training programme championed by ABYA and the BRBA has long been on our agenda. Given this, it was very exciting to be able to help deliver the first sell-out course in Southampton last week. New modules relating to AI, conflict management and the status of Client Accounts have been added to old favourites, all of which will ensure that professional brokerage houses can maintain the level required to set them above the others. We have got brokers signed up for the next event in March already!” commented, Alastair Walton.
Speaking of the course, Karen Wilson, YBDSA CEO commented: “It was with great pleasure that the ABYA Academy partnered with British Marine to present the newly up-graded Practical Yacht Brokers Course. The course was packed with exceptional content and we’re incredibly proud of the success this course has achieved in the new format. We are looking forward to the next course which is planned to take place in March 2024.”
Whilst Manj Mahey, Head of Training at British Marine concluded: “We were absolutely delighted to launch the very first joint ABYA Academy and British Marine Practical Yacht Brokerage course, which was a sold-out success at the British Marine’s Head Office in Southampton. Our collaboration with ABYA marks a significant step towards the joined-up aim of raising standards within our sector and we are already excited about planning the next course with ABYA and welcoming a new group of delegates!
“Our thanks to ABYA and to our skilled speakers for sharing their invaluable insights and expertise with our attendees.”
The next Practical Yacht Brokers course will take place on 19-20 March 2024. Look out for more details coming soon or contact ABYA to book your place at events@ybdsa.co.uk.
For more details about British Marine training please visit https://mymembership.britishmarine.co.uk/training-courses/
For more details about ABYA Academy training please visit: https://abya.co.uk/courses-and-events/
