PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts is pleased to announce that over 90 per cent of applicants interviewed during the MSC Cruises recruitment drive at Queen’s Hall, Port of Spain from May 10-12, 2023, will receive letters of intent from the cruise line.
Over 200 applicants were interviewed by a recruitment team comprising MSC Cruises and Meridian Recruitment Agency Ltd. officials. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts supported the initiative and provided the relevant technical facilities.
MSC Cruises has successfully shortlisted applicants to fill vacancies in the areas of Food and Beverage, Housekeeping, Entertainment, Guest Services and Galley Jobs.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Senator the Honourable Randall Mitchell said “The Ministry is pleased with the successful outcome of the recruitment and interview drive held last week Wednesday to Friday. I extend congratulations to all the successful applicants and wish them well on their new journeys. I also want to thank MSC Cruises and Meridian Recruitment Agency Ltd. for recognizing the talents of our citizens and helping them to monetize their skills.”
Minister Mitchell added that this achievement was due to consistent strategic conversations with the cruise line. He said that the Ministry is aware of the important role it plays in facilitating the environment for gainful employment for citizens and will continue to partner with stakeholders to ensure that opportunities are created for nationals to benefit.
Praise for the Process
According to Meridian Recruitment Agency Limited, over 3,000 nationals applied online for the opportunity to work with MSC Cruises. The recruitment agency sought to recruit 200 suitably qualified nationals on behalf of MSC Cruises.
Applicants were invited to submit e-applications for the available positions that formed part of a registration and pre-screening process that was conducted by Meridian Recruitment Agency Ltd. Pre-screened and registered candidates were then physically interviewed at Queen’s Hall over the three-day period.
Following the interviews, MSC Cruises representatives said, “It is very rare to find a process as well organized as this one. Filtering through the online applications prior to sending to MSC made the process of finalizing the face to face interviews more streamlined.”
Interviewees also spoke highly of the application and interview process noting the assistance rendered by the recruitment team and the advice offered by the interviewees were exemplary.
The recruiters said that they were very impressed with the quality and enthusiasm of the applicants interviewed and deemed Trinidad and Tobago citizens as “a magnificent asset of hospitality and marine professionals”.
Plans for Future Recruitment Drives
Minister Mitchell anticipates that productive discussions will continue with MSC Cruises and other cruise lines to conduct more recruitment drives in Trinidad and Tobago following the successful drives conducted by Royal Caribbean Group’s (RCG) and MSC Cruises.
He highlighted some of the benefits of the recruitment exercises and encouraged nationals to capitalize on the opportunities when presented.
“Through these recruitment programmes, thousands of our citizens will have access to timely opportunities to expand their horizons while earning US Dollars that they can now use for various personal endeavours such as business investments, loan payments or simply to take care of their families and loved ones.”
Next Steps for Successful Interviewees
Once successful at the interviews, all applicants will receive an official employment letter from MSC Cruises within two to four weeks, following which they would have to finalize their medicals, Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW 1978), visas and other cruise lines documents.
