First North East cruise career fair in Dimapur from March 1

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Feb. 28 (EMN): The first Northeast cruise career fair organised by Carnival Support Services India Pvt. Ltd (CSSI) in partnership with the Emporium Skill Training Institute (ESTI) Dimapur will be held on March 1 and 2 at ESTI Vikiye colony near IMC Hall in Dimapur. This was announced at the welcome programme for the CSSI team in Dimapur on Monday.

Dimapur Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Soundarajan who attended the programme as the special guest said that the Naga youths had no dearth of talent but most of the time, these talents had ‘no occasion to meet opportunities and this may be because of the geographical location.’

However, he observed that those who were already working outside had proved that they are second to none.

“There is always a preference for government jobs in Nagaland but there is already a saturation in the government sector so it leaves with a natural choice towards the private sector”, the DC observed while persuading the youths that one always grows when he/she moves out of one’s comfort zone.

The DC asserted that one should capitalise and leverage on the good assets that the youths have while encouraging them to have patience and perseverance, learn the tricks of the trade, gain experience and exposure, which will ultimately open opportunities for demand factors in the market.

Emporium Training and Consultancy Pvt Ltd (ETCPL) operation manager Anirban Mukherjee during an interaction with the media maintained that the cruise career fair in Dimapur will have applicants from across the country and not only from the Northeast.

Mukherjee emphasised on the applicants to possess a passport as it is a requirement for anyone who wants to work overseas. He pointed out that during the past recruitments held, most of the Naga youths did not possess passports for overseas jobs and they had to be turned down even after possessing exceptional qualities.

The CSSI team told reporters that since ESTI is an established organisation that is guided under the framework of the Ministry of Skill Development and Nagaland Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Society, it aims to bring the world’s best cruise ship career opportunities for the youth of North East states.

CSSI had planned for a cruise career fair in Dimapur in March 2020 along with ESTI. But due to the pandemic-induced pause in operations, the CSSI had to call-off the event back then.

“We renew our commitment to bring in the world’s best cruise ship opportunities for the youth of North East states this year and welcome everyone who wishes to make a career onboard”, the team maintained.

“We are looking for people who have some experience in customer handling, specifically in the hospitality sector. The minimum educational qualifications required are Secondary School Certificate pass (10th standard), who are above 18 years of age with fluency in spoken English. For senior positions, we will require a hotel school diploma or degree along with other specialist industry skills in line with the applied position,” CSSI informed.

The selection process will consist of short listing, online self-assessments and technical interviews followed by a personal interview and an English Language proficiency test. All selected candidates will undergo a general company induction. Additionally, those selected as chefs may undergo specialist culinary training at the Culinary Academy of India campus in Hyderabad. Security personnel may be asked to do additional safety courses. All training post-selection is free, they informed.

Presently they are hiring for all hospitality ranks in the kitchen, housekeeping, food & beverage service, front office and security departments. Additionally, they are also hiring for a range of marine positions in the deck and technical departments with the salary package depending upon the position and the brand. They said that the salary is paid out in USD every month.

Post-selection, the CSSI expects approximately three months for a candidate to complete all safety-related training such as Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) 2010 courses, company-mandated training and obtain the relevant visa before joining a ship and start sailing.

Highlighting on the guidelines and policies of the company with regard to pension benefits, leave availability and other incentives for the chosen recruits, it said that majority of the onboard positions were contractual, ranging from six to ten months depending on the position and the brand. Those recruited will be paid for the entire length of their contract and at the end of the contract they are entitled to two to three months of leave that is unpaid. Some of the ranks were entitled to either a common or individual gratuity pool paid out along with the salary.

On legal awareness for the recruited candidates so that they are equipped to protect their basic and fundamental legal rights, the CSSI team maintained that all their partner brands work under the highest level of the legal framework governed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 for shipping organisations.

The MLC is a comprehensive international employment convention adopted by the ILO International Labour Conference in February 2006. It contains seafarers’ rights to decent conditions of work and creates conditions of fair competition for ship owners. India is a signatory to the MLC 2006 code, they informed.