Costa Crociere launched www.career.costacrociere.it, a website dedicated exclusively to recruiting office staff and crew members for its ships.
The site is available in Italian and English, and lists all available vacant positions. In addition, applicants can submit an online application for a particular position, send a resume without a specific job in mind or find full details about the company, its mission and values.
"We're always on the lookout for talented young people and experienced professionals who are motivated to work with passion for the common objective of making our guests happy," said Costa Crociere Vice President Human Resources Marialuisa Bozzano. "By means of this new site we'll be able to have a direct link with anyone who's interested in joining our company."
The website provides an overview of all employment opportunities offered by Costa Crociere S.p.A. The international company headquartered in Genoa, Italy, operates three cruise brands - Costa Cruises, German brand AIDA Cruises and Spanish line Iberocruceros. With a combined fleet of 27 ships in service, plus three more due for delivery by 2016, Costa is Europe's largest cruise company. The combined group has a workforce of more than 27,000 employees from 70 countries.
In 2014 the Costa Cruises brand expects to have around 1,200 shipboard new hires, thanks to the new flagship Costa Diadema, which is due for delivery Oct. 30, 2014.
Career opportunities in Costa's shoreside offices in 14 countries around the world also are listed. The site has details about training programs and courses of instruction offered free of charge and arranged in collaboration with several Italian provincial administrations. The site will enable Costa to manage the recruitment process quickly and efficiently, and during the personnel-selection process job candidates can complete tests and questionnaires online.
Most job openings are for shipboard positions, said Bozzano. In the Hotel Department open positions are mainly those in contact with guests, including cruise staff, receptionists and restaurant personnel. Jobs on offer for deck and engine seafarers include first and second deck officer, first and second engineer, nurses and technical personnel.
Knowledge of English is a requirement for all shipboard jobs.
In Costa's shoreside offices positions are available in a number of areas including sales and marketing, human resources, contact center, marketing and marine and nautical operations.
The website also offers opportunities for young people with no previous work experience. Currently there are two training programs for European citizens, with places for 20 guest-service operators (receptionists) and 20 cruise staff. Tuition is provided free of charge and is designed to lead to an eventual offer of employment. The programs are co-funded by the European Social Fund and the Provincial Administration of Genoa, with job offers guaranteed for at least 60 percent of participants.
The career website is accessible worldwide, both in countries where Costa hires employees directly and in those where it uses recruiting agencies, whose contact information is provided on the site.
In addition to Costa Crociere's new website the Italian company is also on LinkedIn.
Costa Cruises was named one of CRF Institute's Top Employers 2014 Italy at a ceremony in Milan, Italy, Feb. 18, 2014. The award recognizes organizations that achieve the highest standards of excellence in human resources management.
Top Employer certification is bestowed based on an in-depth analysis of a company's policies regarding communication, diversity and inclusion, knowledge management, ability to attract and develop talent, training, compensation and benefits, and working conditions.
CRF Institute is an independent global certification organization specializing in human resources management research. Details about the certification as well as photos from the awards ceremony can be found at www.top-employers.com.
