CARNIVAL Cruise Line, a unit of Carnival Corp. & plc., said it has entered into a Philippine crewing agreement with United Philippine Lines (UPL), with the collaboration to result in the establishment of a facility within the Pasay-EDSA campus of STI Education Services Group, Inc.
“The state-of-the-art hub is Carnival and UPL’s response to the growing global demand for seafarers as the global cruise industry continues to rebound from the pandemic,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement.
The training center will be accessible to STI students in the college’s hospitality, tourism, culinary, marine transportation and marine engineering programs.
“Our partnership with Carnival is an investment in our country’s future. It gives our students more options for a challenging and incredibly rewarding job that allows them to see the world and meet people from a variety of backgrounds,” STI Education Services Vice-Chairman Monico V. Jacob said.
“The cruise industry is continuously growing, which means the number of opportunities for those who’d like to work at sea will also continue to increase. STI will strive to offer these opportunities to Filipinos,” he added.
Richard Brearley, crew and travel operations vice-president at Carnival Cruise Line, said that the center will put students on track for a fulfilling career in the global cruise industry.
“Because the UPL-Carnival TM Center is equipped with top-of-the-line equipment and well-trained staff, Filipinos looking to explore the world as shipboard talents can expect an easy and efficient application and training process. We guarantee smooth sailing from the get-go,” said Mr. Brearley.
Carnival currently employs 50,000 workers and recruits heavily from the Philippines.
On Monday, the Department of Migrant Workers projected the deployment of Philippine seafarers to hit pre-pandemic levels soon, exceeding 500,000 by year’s end. — Justine Irish D. Tabile