Next October, the prestigious Villa Figoli in Arenzano (Liguria region, Italy) will inaugurate Italy's first center dedicated to training hospitality professionals who will work on board passenger ships. This initiative is the result of cooperation between the Liguria Region, the Italian Merchant Marine Academy Foundation, and the Municipality of Arenzano.
The first training academy for onboard hospitality professionals has been unveiled in Italy. This new center will open in October 2016 at the prestigious Villa Figoli in Arenzano (province of Genoa) and will be the first school in Italy dedicated exclusively to training hospitality professionals to work onboard passenger ships. The positions for which students will be trained include cooks, pastry chefs, bakers, entertainment staff, technicians, and customer service representatives, among other roles related to onboard hospitality and entertainment.
The school will be managed by the ITS Foundation, the Italian Merchant Marine Academy, which has already planned courses to train a total of 60 students in customer service, culinary arts, and onboard entertainment. Costa Cruises has committed to hiring at least 60% of the students who complete their training at the center in one of the three courses, representing a minimum of 36 students. This training initiative was proposed by the Academy in conjunction with Costa Cruises (thus establishing a potential partnership with the cruise line), who participated in the public announcement aimed at unemployed individuals over 24 years of age, issued last August by the Liguria Region and funded with European social funds.
In addition to the courses mentioned in the previous paragraph, a program for training onboard pastry chefs and bakers is included. This program, supported by the Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) course, is funded by the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). There are 22 places available, and Costa Cruises has confirmed its intention to hire at least 70% of the students who successfully complete the program. The course, which will be free of charge and designed for young people seeking employment, will last a total of one and a half years and will combine classroom lessons with onboard training.
The programming of the Higher Technical Institutes also includes the ship's cook course, which will be financed by the Academia Foundation, with the next public announcement from the Liguria Region directed to the ITS: this additional training planned for autumn could also take place at the Arenzano headquarters.
“The Liguria Region has firmly believed in this project, providing €4 million from PAR FAS/FSC funds for the renovation of the villa and also investing part of the European Social Fund funding in launching courses that align with the maritime and cruise industry focus of the center itself and the Region,” explained Ilaria Cavo, Minister of Education and Training for the Liguria Region. “The fact that a company like Costa Cruises has entered into an agreement with the Academy to launch the first training programs, and that it has already committed to hiring 52 of the ITS students, demonstrates the project's validity and the soundness of the investment. This initiative also coincides with the Region's fundamental objective of ensuring that qualified training is increasingly linked to the world of work.”.
“We are very pleased that this project has come to fruition. The Higher Education Center in Arenzano is the culmination of a project that began in 2005 and has enabled Costa Cruises to hire around 500 deck and engine room officers. Villa Figoli represents a new starting point for highly qualified training in the hospitality and catering sectors within the cruise industry,” commented Eugenio Massolo, President of the Italian Merchant Marine Academy. “The results achieved so far, together with the encouraging prospects for training and employment, allow us to look to the future with great optimism and with the aim of expanding cooperation in this sector.”.
“At the new Villa Figoli Academy, Costa Cruises will offer its training partner new opportunities to recruit qualified and skilled seafarers, while also providing high-quality training for those already working with us. This initiative further demonstrates our strong commitment to creating value in Italy. We are also grateful to the public institutions for enabling the creation of a school, the first of its kind in the country, which offers new opportunities and a boost to the maritime professions,” said Neil Paloma, CEO of Costa Cruises.
