TRIESTE – Actv (Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano) has opened new recruitment rounds for seagoing staff on Venice’s lagoon public transport network. The company has launched full-time, permanent recruitment procedures for several key navigation roles: masters-in-charge, masters and chief engineers. The positions fall under the national collective agreement for local public transport and inland navigation workers, with grade and pay defined according to candidates’ experience. The initiative is part of planning shared with the AVM group and the Municipality of Venice, which provides for regular recruitment rounds to cover turnover and progressively strengthen staffing levels, in line with the service’s operational needs.
In detail, the master-in-charge will serve on vessels under 25 tonnes, such as motorboats and vaporetti, and at least a local traffic boatmaster’s licence with navigation authorisation is required. The master will instead be assigned to vessels over 25 tonnes, including motor vessels and ferries, with requirements that include command certifications for different tonnage classes. The chief engineer, finally, will serve on vessels requiring this technical role, with licences linked to engine power and registration as seafaring personnel. Applications must be submitted by 20 April 2026 through the “Work with us” section of the Actv website.
At the same time, the company will also reopen internal professional development paths for staff already in service. Behind the new recruitment campaign there is also a structural difficulty in finding qualified personnel. According to the AVM group, the current rules on professional qualifications and on the possibility of employing personnel with experience gained at sea limit the pool available for lagoon navigation. For this reason, institutional and trade union discussions are under way to overcome the existing constraints, alongside investment in internal training.
«Current regulations governing the acquisition of higher qualifications, as well as those concerning the possibility of employing in public transport service in the Venice Lagoon professionals who have built up experience at sea,» explains AVM Group general counsel Mauro L. Valenti, «are proving highly restrictive in relation to the current labour market. We are engaged in discussions at every level to overcome the existing limits and are investing substantial resources in enhancing internal development paths, with excellent results achieved so far. Continued dialogue in institutional and trade union forums for lagoon navigation professions is important.»
