Agency sets up center for hospitality workers

CEBU, Philippines - The Magsaysay Group of Companies has set up a training center to help meet the growing demand for hospitality industry workers in the world, specifically for cruise ships.

Magsaysay Group, one of the country's largest manning and recruitment companies opened the Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts  in Cebu.

MIHCA institute director Paolo Santino A. Guevara said there is a need for more highly trained professionals in the hospitality sector. 

He said the innate warm disposition of Filipino workers is one of the main reasons why international cruise ships prefer to hire Filipinos.

The center aims to help Cebuanos and those from other parts of Southern Mindanao to take advantage of the surge of hospitality skills demand worldwide.

MIHCA was first set up in 2007 and is now in four locations including Manila, Makati, Jakarta in Indonesia and Cebu, which only soft opened in April this year.

The Cebu center already had a total of 90 students taking up housekeeping services and food and beverage services. It also offers courses on professional baking and pastry arts studies and professional culinary arts studies.

Guevara said the courses would usually take two weeks to seven months.

The cruise shipping industry or the passenger vessel capacity is projected to reach about 475, 279 between 2013 to 2016.

"That increase in capacity will fuel more demand for workers," said Alvin D. Gonzales, MIHCA sales and marketing manager.

"Now the demand for culinary housekeeping professionals for cruise ships is about 73,000 a year and the country can only produce about 72,000. These are graduates of four year courses who are 'generalist' and don't have any specialization," said Guevara.

He added that most companies are now looking for those who specializes on specific skills sets which training centers like MIHCA provides.

The company targets to open at least three more training centers in the country in the next three years.

Meanwhile, Guevara added that at present the group had already deployed about 42,000 seafarers through Magsaysay Maritime Corp. and Magsaysay Global Services, Inc.

"Of that number about 3,000 are from Bohol and Cebu. With the opening of our training center here. We hope to get more from this region," said Alvin D. Gonzales, MIHCA sales and marketing manager.

"Ideally we want to setup the hospitality and culinary arts training center where we also have our manning and recruitment offices," said Gonzales.

Currently, the Group maintains manning and recruitment offices in Bacolod, Iloilo, Cavite, Manila, Cebu and Davao.

In Cebu, their manning, recruitment and training center is located at F. Ramos Street, Cebu City.  (FREEMAN)