Leading cruising firm sets up hiring office in PH

US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is setting up its first direct hiring office and training facility in the Philippines, as the leading global cruise vacation firm plans to tap more skilled Filipino workers for its operations.

Royal Caribbean chair and CEO Richard Fain said in a briefing on Tuesday that this move was in anticipation of a significant employment growth in the Philippines as the company expected Filipino workers to account for an even bigger share of the company’s global workforce by 2020.

There are at present 11,000 Filipino employees working for the US-based cruise giant out of the 65,000 workers the company currently has.

By 2020, the number of Filipinos working for Royal Caribbean is expected to reach 30,000, equivalent to about 30 percent of its workforce.

According to Fain, the Philippines, given its strong maritime culture, is no stranger to seafaring and other related jobs. It is also an advantage that Filipinos are skilled, English proficient, and are deemed “happy people” who can provide a unique level of service in their cruise ships, he further said.

The company, through a joint venture with Philippine Transmarine Carriers, will open in May the new manning agency, which will form part of Royal Caribbean’s strategy to address the increased demand for talent, while simultaneously building employee engagement and improving the overall employee experience.

The company believes its new approach to finding new employees and bringing them into its global fleet may also be replicated in other markets.

The new offices will be located in the Mall of Asia area. It will offer “at sea” employees a streamlined recruitment system in a modern setting, aimed at building the company’s visibility and building stronger awareness for its various brands.

In a separate interview, Paul T. Parker, chief human resources officer at Royal Caribbean, said the company was continuously looking at other opportunities to expand its itineraries. He said the company had previous discussions with the Philippines about the possibility of it becoming a tour destination.

Parker however noted that for the country to be considered as a destination for one of Royal Caribbean cruises, the country should have port facilities that can accommodate its ships and should be appealing enough as a destination to their guests.

Richard Brearley, vice president for shipboard human resources strategy and services at Royal Caribbean, stressed that the Philippines had a huge potential as a destination as there was so much commercial opportunities that could be tapped, but there was a need to further improve the country’s port infrastructure to enable companies like Royal Caribbean to call port in the different islands across the country.