Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will build a training
facility for shipboard service employees in the Philippines.
The Norwegian Cruise Line Center of Excellence is due to
open in late 2020 near Manila.
Norwegian said the facility will be "designed to
provide trainees with realistic work and living experiences aboard a cruise
ship, which will include replicas of staterooms, a shipboard galley, a casino
floor, a full-service bar as well as safety and security training areas."
The facility is expected to accommodate as many as 8,000 trainees
each year. Norwegian said it sources approximately 65% of shipboard employees
from Southeast Asia. With 11 ships on order through 2027, Norwegian said it anticipates
an even higher demand for personnel from the region in the coming years.