ABOUT 400 Vincentians have already gained employment with the Royal Caribbean Group, through a recent recruitment drive held here on the weekend which started Friday, May 13.

And another 1600 will be recruited under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the Royal Caribbean Group.

“This development I think is a significant one for the cruise industry, significant development for persons, stakeholders and employees within the tourism sector because part of the arrangement is the Royal Caribbean will facilitate training for a number of the persons who are being recruited for this exercise,” tourism minister, Carlos James said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We do have a significant shortage of trained personnel within the tourism sector and it continues to be a challenge, not just in St Vincent and the Grenadines but across the Eastern Caribbean islands, and having as much as 2000 persons going off to Royal Caribbean to take up different speciality positions and entry level positions, and able to be afforded the opportunity for training, I think it’s also a significant part of this exercise.”

The recruitment process began this month, with 400 persons being employed on the spot between May 13 and 15 at a recruitment fair at the Beachcombers Hotel.

The tourism minister said the recruitment drive is fast tracked and differs from the regular employment process that is usually employed by Royal Caribbean.

Successful applicants were interviewed, prescreened by a medical team and the job offer was presented to them once the necessary background checks were completed.

James is hopeful that these new employees will be integrated into the Royal Caribbean system in time for the upcoming cruise season.

Due to the agreement between the government and the cruise line, the tourism minister noted that recruitment will come at a significantly reduced cost to applicants applying under this process.

He also noted that while recruitment is expected to remain centralised in the Kingstown/Villa area, the intention is to also place recruitment centres on the North Western and North Eastern ends of the islands, specifically for potential recruits who were impacted by the eruptions of La Soufriere volcano last April.

“I think that is a big plus in terms of facilitating persons who are directly adversely affected by the explosive eruptions, those in the red and orange zones and we intend to do this in a few weeks, “James said, adding that Royal Caribbean intends to return to SVG in late June/early July to continue the recruitment process.

Persons seeking to be recruited by the Royal Caribbean Group should complete the pre-assessment screening at rclctrac.com And when turning up to recruitment drives, applicants should arrive with a valid passport, national identification card and a clean police record.

Medicals are being facilitated by the cruise line at recruitment fairs.

“I want to encourage applicants who will be going off to the recruitment centres which will be established through the Royal Caribbean Recruitment drive, to be mindful of your deportment. Prepare yourselves, speak to persons who would’ve had the experience going through the application process currently and in the past,” James said on Tuesday.

“It’s important that persons who have a keen interest in applying for these positions to be aware of what the challenges are and what the pros and cons are in terms of life out at sea and the opportunities that are there for you in terms of forward advancement and opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.”

The tourism minister thanked the Royal Caribbean Group for entering into this agreement with this country, which ensures that Vincentians will be recruited.

“In fact, they noted that they have a high number of Vincentians already employed with Royal Caribbean and they spoke glowingly of the quality of our human resource capital in St Vincent and the Grenadines, their enthusiasm and their willingness to work. I also reiterated to the Royal Caribbean group that we are certainly not short of the human resource capacity and we want to get as [many] Vincentians off on these short term contracts or long-term contracts of employment with the company,” he said.