The Importance of Training and Development of Cruise Ship Staff

A cruise ship is a global workplace employing thousands of people from all over the world, each with a diverse background, and different skills and experience to offer.

Cruise lines recognise that every one of their employees has a unique set of skills, education and experience that they will bring to their job role. It is the cruise line’s responsibility to provide the appropriate tools and opportunities for the continuous learning and development of all of their employees.

Every cruise line is slightly different, but they will all provide a wide range of shoreside and shipboard training for their staff, both before and after they join their ships.

Carnival Corporation has recently launched a remote training platform known as GLADIS - Global Learning and Development Information System. This provides employees with convenient access to training resources for continuous learning and professional development.

GLADIS is a remote learning system capable of operating without internet access to deliver consistent and continual training to Carnival’s 100,000 shipboard employees.  It offers:

• a more consistent learning experience for employees;
• real-time tracking of training requirement completion;
• greater efficiency in records management and reporting; and
• a greater focus on individual performance, competency mapping, career development and advancement programmes through targeted training.

GLADIS will be continuously populated with brand-specific and corporate-wide content, including videos, instructor-led presentations, assessments and podcasts.

"The development and implementation of our new training technology tools further enhances our abilities to help provide a lifelong learning process and enhanced learning culture, and how we support and foster learning and development of shipboard employees," said John Allen, director of maritime training professional development.

In addition to GLADIS, Carnival has also recently launched CrewTube, a smartphone and tablet application which offers a ‘You Tube’-like experience. It features video content and tutorials focused on the onboarding process for new shipboard employees. Using the crew's devices for access to communication and information will help with their familiarisation, preparation and awareness of life onboard, shipboard operations and Health, Environmental, Safety and Security (HESS) policies prior to joining a ship.

It is hoped that this accessibility of information will empower each crew member to drive his/her own success story for a long and rewarding career at sea.