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Depending on the industry you want to work in, useful experience for deckhands includes:

• manual labour
• experience as a hospitality crew member at sea
• customer service work, especially in tourism or related areas
• experience at sea, such as pleasure boating or volunteering for the coastguard.

Deckhands may do some or all of the following:

• assist with berthing, casting off and anchoring vessels
• assist with operating, maintaining and cleaning vessels and equipment such as nets and ropes
• cast and haul in fishing nets, lines and pots
• process and pack fish
• help passengers on and off vessels, and look after cargo or passengers' baggage
• prepare and serve food and drink
• provide information and commentary for passengers
• carry out emergency drills and procedures.

Job chances best on deep-sea fishing boats

Opportunities for finding work as a fishing deckhand are good, especially on deep-sea fishing boats. The hard work and long periods spent away from home means employers often find it hard to find and keep crew.

People with an advanced fishing deckhand qualification have the best chance of finding work.

Deckhands with a Qualified Deck Crew or higher qualification appears on Immigration New Zealand's  transport sector agreement. This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled deckhands from overseas to work in New Zealand

According to the Census, 2,133 deckhands worked in New Zealand in 2018.

Work experience can improve your chance of employment

You can improve your chances of employment by:

• directly approaching a fishing company or skipper, as many jobs are not advertised
• working as an at-sea or onshore seafood processor
• doing a pre-employment course
• looking for maritime hospitality crew work in spring before the busy summer season.

Types of employers varied

Deckhands may work for:

• small passenger ferry companies
• container and cargo shipping companies
• inshore and deep-sea fishing companies.

Deckhands who gain relevant qualifications can progress into positions of more responsibility, such as leading hand or bosun, first mate and eventually skipper or ship's master. They may also progress to working on larger, more complex vessels.

Deckhands may specialise in a number of roles including:

Able Seafarer Deckhand

An able seafarer deckhand is a further advanced deck watch rating, and performs more advanced navigational watch tasks.

Bosun

A bosun is in charge of all deck crew on board a vessel and reports directly to the master.

Commercial Inshore Vessel Deckhand

Commercial inshore vessel deckhands assist inshore launch masters in the operation of vessels such as harbour ferries and charter boats.

Deck Watch Rating

As well as regular deckhand duties, the watch rating is part of the navigational watch.

Fishing Deckhand

Fishing deckhands shoot (cast) and haul in the nets, lines or pots on inshore and deep-sea fishing vessels. They may also process fish.

Maritime Tourism Deck Crew

Tourism Deck Crew host tourists and assure the safety and entertainment of those on board.

Superyacht Crew

A superyacht is a yacht that is 24 metres or longer, the crew follow orders of the captain and can do any job on board, from cleaning and hospitality roles to looking after passengers, as well as assisting in casting off and anchoring the vessel.

Deckhands need to be:

• able to work well as part of a team
• disciplined, with good attention to detail
• alert, and able to remain calm under pressure and in an emergency.