Carnival partners with Philippine schools on job opportunities

The partnership is with the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) and STI, one of the largest networks of colleges and schools in the country.

Carnival Cruise Line SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer Bettina Deynes and VP for Crew and Travel Operations Richard Brearley were recently in Manila for the partnership's announcement.

Training and cadetship programs

PMMA will provide training in various merchant marine fields to prepare students for training on Carnival vessels and work with the line to select students who will receive cadetship, internship and employment opportunities.

STI Educational Services Group (STI ESG) and STI Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Institute (STI NAMEI) will develop housekeeping and culinary curricula in Manila. Part of the partnership involves exploring the possibility of recruiting STI NAMEI graduates of marine transportation and marine engineering for potential Carnival jobs.

Jobs in nontraditional roles

'Along with bringing a lot of expertise and knowledge, the Filipino community is strong among Carnival’s shipboard team members and embodies our values and brand essence of having fun,' Deynes said, 'so Carnival wants to ... broaden the roles that they are qualified to fill including nontraditional roles such as those within nautical operations.'

'We are proud to take a further step to help develop those future team members while they are still in school, providing them with more career choices,' Brearley added.

Opportunities outside of Manila

The partnership will also give opportunities to maritime students not just from Manila but other areas as well. To this end, Carnival and its recruitment agency United Philippine Lines have been working on a system to develop seafarer skills outside the capital. 

STI ESG President and COO Monico Jacob expressed his company’s pride in the intiative. 'With our partnership with Carnival, our students can be confident that they will get the best training and they have somewhere to go once they graduate,' he said.

PMMA Superintendent Commodore Joel Abutal added, 'We will help create jobs for the masses, as well as improve the efficiency of the country's transport system, especially in the maritime sector.'