Sea-going job and career opportunities, recruitment challenges and HR strategies are covered in a new complimentary digital report, Working at Sea by Cruise Industry News.
The cruise industry needs to hire 80,000 new seafarers yearly over the next decade both for turnover and to staff the new ships being introduced. Thus, companies are gearing up their recruitment and retention efforts in the traditional sourcing markets, while also exploring new recruitment sources for officers and crew.
At the same time, cruise lines are offering better terms and conditions than before, as well as more opportunities for advancement and long-term careers.
Driving this development is the evolution of the industry, the growing fleet of ships creating an ever larger demand (and competition) for crew and officers, as well as collective bargaining agreements and the Maritime Labor Convention, stipulating working conditions, accommodations, and health and welfare protection among other requirements.
Working terms and conditions have steadily improved to the point where cruise lines are taking the leading role as employers at sea and creating many more opportunities than ever existed on passenger ships before or in cargo shipping or ferries today.
Cruise Industry News has talked to cruise lines and seafarer unions about how best to recruit and retain personnel in the coming years, and also about the opportunities and challenges of working at sea.
Titled Working at Sea, the digital report is downloadable as a PDF from Cruise Industry News.