International cruise ship to homeport in Manila for the first time




Filipinos need not fly elsewhere just to join a cruise.

For the first time ever, an international cruise ship will be making Manila as its homeport.

Superstar Virgo, a 13-storey cruise ship, is set to sail from Manila starting March 19 for a 5-night multi-city voyage.


It will be making ports of call in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Kaohsiung in Taiwan, and in Hong Kong before heading back to Manila.

“We promise our guests a hassle-free cruise from Manila,” said Michael Goh, vice president for Sales, Star Cruises, during a press conference in Pasay City on Friday.

Although Filipinos normally need a visa when visiting Taiwan, this requirement is being waived for those joining the cruise.

Philippine passport holders need not get a Taiwan visa as long as they are joining the cruise in Manila and will still be boarding the ship when it sails to Hong Kong after its stop in Kaohsiung, according to Andrea Solis Manzano, assistant vice president for Sales of Star Cruises.

Filipinos enjoy visa-free entry to Hong Kong.

Superstar Virgo offers amenities such as an outdoor swimming pool, mega slide, two-level theater, mini golf course, karaoke room, gym, sauna and spa. It is equipped with 935 cabins and has 10 restaurants. It also arranges excursions in each of the cities it will be making a stop in.

One of the highlights of the cruise, according to Goh and Manzano, is the gala dinner wherein guests get to dress up and meet the captain of the ship.

Superstar Virgo will be homeporting in Manila until May 23.

Japan to hire 8,500 More Filipino domestic helpers, salary starts at Php72,000/mo


 





MANILA, Philippines – Japan will soon hire almost 8,500 Filipino domestic helpers as the Philippines and Japan recently iron out the necessary bilateral agreements. This is one of the major bilateral deals both governments agreed on the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) summit held in Manila. Pres. Benigno Aquino and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stated their commitment for this bilateral deal which will benefit both nations.

“We will be hiring around 8,500 Filipino domestic helpers within a 3 year time frame, Japanese citizens are fast aging and most of our aging citizens are left out alone on Japanese homes”. Japanese press secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura said in an interview.



“We requested on the side of Philippines that they also prepare necessary system so that it will be smoothly implemented,” Kawamura added.

Filipino domestic helpers will be accepted initially on Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures. Requirements for interested applicants must comply a 6 month TESDA training in housekeeping and they also need to learn the Japanese language. The Philippine government will sponsor a Nihongo class for Filipinos who will be hired.

Filipino housekeepers in Japan will be expected to be stay-out workers. Their salary will be around $1,530 or around P72,000 every month, which is equal to the Japanese minimum wage. On top of this, domestic helpers will also receive benefits.



Job market & key industries




Is it a good time to be looking for jobs in New Zealand? Definitely - especially if you have the right skills.


New Zealand was less affected by the global financial crisis than many other countries and employment has been gathering steam, particularly in the last three years. However, while employment conditions are expected to remain strong, the Government forecasts the growth rate will decline for the next three years to 2018. More detail is in the Job Market Overview below. 
There are many job openings for specialists in industries such as medicine, engineering and IT. But there are also opportunities to contribute more generalist skills.


Register your interest

Take the first step to a new life by registering your interest with Immigration New Zealand. We’ll send you personalised emails about job opportunities in your profession, life in New Zealand and choosing the right visa.
Register your interest

It’s free and there’s no obligation.

Skills in demand

Some skills are in chronically short supply, and Immigration New Zealand has lists of skill shortages and a separate list of shortages of the skills needed to help rebuild the Canterbury region after the earthquakes there in 2010 and 2011.
If you are offered a job in New Zealand which appears on a skill shortage list and you have the qualifications and experience to match, getting a work and residence visa will be easier. This is because the Government has identified that employers need to recruit people from overseas to help meet demand for your skills.
Currently, the lists cover skills in these areas:
Long Term shortagesImmediate shortagesCanterbury shortages
Agriculture and forestry
Construction
Education
Engineering
Finance/business
Health and social services
ICT and electronics
Oil and gas
Recreation, hospitality & tourism
Science
Trades
Transport
A full list of current skill shortages in New Zealand can be found by using our handy tool:

Job sites to explore

Specialist sites

Sites designed to connect offshore workers with NZ employers:

Other job sites

Lots of jobs, but employers will not always be open to hiring from overseas:

Other skills and avenues

If your skills aren’t on the shortage lists or you’d really like to go for residency, it may still be possible to get a visa.
For instance, you may be able to apply for residency as a Skilled Migrant. You may also be able to apply for a work visa if you’re offered a job by an employer who can’t find a local worker for the vacancy.

Great job opportunities in New Zealand (02:15)
View transcript View all videos

Job market overview

In the year to 30 June 2015, employment rose 3%. The unemployment rate was 5.9%.
Prices for our commodities (particularly dairy products) have slipped recently and business confidence is falling back. However the influences that have underpinned recent strong growth still apply - migration generating more demand, post-earthquake construction activity in Canterbury and growth in domestic incomes creating jobs. So, on balance, the government expects employment to remain strong over the next three years but to grow but at a slowing rate.
The job sectors driving employment growth are changing. The Canterbury construction industry is playing a less prominent role. Instead, recent employment growth has been in manufacturing, particularly in Christchurch and Auckland, and mostly in food production, machinery and equipment manufacturing, and textile manufacturing.
Nearly half (44%) of annual employment growth to June 2015 was in Auckland, followed by Bay of Plenty (8%) and Waikato (4%).
Skilled job vacancies advertised on three major internet job boards - SEEK, TradeMe jobs, and the Education Gazette increased by nearly 4% over the year to June 2015.
For the latest overview, visit the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Market Update.


New Zealand town with ‘too many jobs’ will pay you $165K to relocate


Kaitangata town leaders in New Zealand hope they can grow their badly needed work force by paying people nearly $165K to move to the small town. (Clutha District Council)





NEW ZEALAND – It sounds too good to be true, but the mayor of one New Zealand town promises it isn’t.

In an effort to boost the economy, Kaitangata officials are paying people nearly $165,000 each to move there.

The town of about 800 is located on a lush, green hillside just minutes from the coastline on the South Island, but picturesque Kaitangata is in crisis – there are too many jobs.



“We have got youth unemployment down to two,” Clutha district Mayor Bryan Cadogan told The Guardian. “Not two percent — just two unemployed young people.”

The town is desperate to fill jobs in dairy processing and freezing works, two industries Kaitangata is heavily involved in.

Cadogan is hoping to jumpstart the economy by filling the roughly 1,000 jobs that are now vacant.



As a temporary solution, Kaitangata has been bussing in workers from Dunedin, which lies about an hour away.

He’s hoping that some of the residents struggling to afford life in larger cities will want to relocate.

The man organizing the effort is a dairy farmer named Evan Dick, who has collaborated with the local bank, lawyers and community services to streamline the moving process.

“This is an old-fashioned community, we don’t lock our houses, we let kids run free. We have jobs, we have houses, but we don’t have people. We want to make this town vibrant again, we are waiting with open arms.”

New Zealand Town Has More Jobs Than People





A tiny New Zealand town that offered property for bargain prices in a bid to attract more people has been swamped with more than 5,000 inquiries from around the world, the local mayor said Friday.

Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan said the South Island township of Kaitangata had more jobs than people, with a population of 800 but up to 1,000 vacancies, mostly in the thriving agricultural sector.

To boost its population, the town has been offering house-and-land packages for NZ$230,000 ($164,000) -- a good deal considering the national average is NZ$577,000, rising to NZ$955,000 in Auckland.


Cadogan said the response had been overwhelming, with global interest from people enquiring about moving to the town, which is set in a lush valley about an hour's drive from Dunedin.

"We've been smashed," he told TV3. "I think my PA's going to throttle me... there's over 5,000 messages on my phone, the council website's full. It's just phenomenal."

The town has a coal mine, sawmills, and processing factories for the dairy industry.

"We've got so many jobs in the district, jobs aren't a problem," Cadogan said.

"We've got the jobs, we've got the affordable housing, we've got the beautiful lifestyle. We're pretty lucky."

He said the town had been searching for ways to attract new people for years.


"We did speed dating and a jobs fair last year," he said, admitting the latest promotion had overshadowed them all.

Cadogan said the initial offering of eight land and house packages looked set to be snapped up and the town "will just keep finding them" if interest warrants it.

"It's a neat wee town with some really positive people and I think it's a hoot of a story," he said.

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How to Apply for Royal Caribbean Cruises Job



The pledge by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) to hire thousands of Filipino workers in the coming years was met with great enthusiasm not only by interested job applicants but also possibly by those involved in illegal recruitment so proper guidance has been made to help interested parties to channel applications at authorized agencies.


Through RC’s partnership with Philippine Transmarine Carriers, direct hiring center in the Philippines will be set up in May to ease the recruitment process. The joint venture will also establish a second training facility at the Mall of Asia from the existing training facility in Maragondon, Cavite. The facility will open on August 16.

While the hiring center is being set up, applicants are encouraged to follow the following procedure:

1. Visit the Royal Caribbean website’s career page. A dedicated careers website of the company can also be accessed at www.royalcareersatsea.com.

2. Browse a list of jobs under ‘Search Jobs’ and look for the job related to your skills. If you don’t find any relevant job for your skill, you may sign up by email for notification for new jobs available.

3. Once you found your ideal job, you may send your updated resume to [email protected] Note that following instructions when applying for jobs online is one quality employers also look at so please review them before proceeding.

4. As an alternative to website job application, reaching out to Hiring Partners such as Philippine Transmarine Carriers helps expedite the process. These agencies may not have the authority to hire applicants but their recommendations based on screening and interview of applicants on behalf of RCCL are highly valued.

5. Follow PTC’s Facebook page to get updates on job vacancies.

6. Visit PTC’s website and access Careers > Maritime > Passenger Vessels for job opportunities. Note that jobs posted may be for other shipping companies and not necessarily from RCCL. When applying for jobs, it helps to create an account at PTC.

7. Visit or call PTC’s office:

     Makati

   First Maritime Place
   7458 Bagtikan Street
   San Antonio Village
   1203 Makati City
   Philippines
   Tel : (632) 798 1111 / (632) 898-1111
   Fax : (632) 898 1107
   E-mail: communication@ptc.com.ph, recruitment@pct.com.ph

     Cebu

   Ground Floor, Bigfoot Center
   F. Ramos Street
   6000 Cebu City
   Philippines
   Tel. (63-32) 412 5750




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