CLIA guides tourism students through world of cruising and celebrates 2023 European Year of Skills
CLIA organizes educational ship visit for tourism students in Piraeus, Greece.
The opportunity to get onboard Mein Schiff 6 cruise ship of TUI Cruises at the Port of Piraeus in Greece, and to be informed about career opportunities in the cruise business and industry’s actions on sustainability, was given to Tourism Management students of BCA College, Greece, by CLIA in cooperation with TUI Cruises.
The educational ship visit was part of CLIA’s priority to engage with students and young people who are interested in the dynamic cruise industry and raise awareness about its significant and growing impact on the economy and employment at global, European, and local level.
Maria Deligianni, CLIA’s National Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, stated: “Seeing is believing. We want to offer to the students the opportunity to experience what cruising is about. 2023 is the European Year of Skills and we want to contribute to the development of skills in our industry. As a cruise industry we are sailing to a better future, and these young students are our future”, she added.
CEO, TUI Cruises Wybcke Meier stated: “The cruise business offers a wide variety of career opportunities. They range from purely maritime jobs, to hotel operations including healthcare majors, cooks and entertainment specialists, and to ground handling, shore excursion providers and tour operators as well as the people in the office. We were delighted to co-host with CLIA this cruise ship visit onboard our Mein Schiff 6 and inform the students about the career paths offered by our industry”.
As part of the same initiative, on April 4, Maria Deligianni visited BCA College and spoke to shipping students about the international cruise industry and how it sails sustainably.
Seeing is believing. We want to offer to the students the opportunity to experience what cruising is about. 2023 is the European Year of Skills and we want to contribute to the development of skills in our industry. As a cruise industry we are sailing to a better future, and these young students are our future
Maria Deligianni, National Director, Eastern Mediterranean, CLIA
The cruise industry offers a high-quality work environment with competitive wages and benefits, as well as training for crew members to perform jobs skillfully and advance on a rewarding career path. CLIA member cruise lines employ a multinational workforce. Often more than 60 nationalities may be working together onboard ship at any one time.
“It is a source of pride for the industry to employ so many people from different nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. Multinational crews work together with respect in safe working environments to deliver the guest experience that is unique to a cruise holiday”, said Maria Deligianni.
Cruise also provides the most advanced opportunities for women in maritime, as 94% of women seafarers across the world work in the cruise industry. At the same time, the industry is remarkable for its job satisfaction levels, reflected by the strong employee retention rates at upwards of 80%.
According to latest CLIA data, the cruise industry generates annually more than 1,1 billion euros to the Greek economy and supports 15,100 jobs (2021 figures).
