Emirates launches recruitment drive

JAKARTA (JP): Emirates, the international airline of the United Arab Emirates, has kicked off a five-nation recruitment drive for cabin crew.

The drive will take in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Malta's captial Valletta in the first quarter of this year in a bid to maintain Emirates' multicultural policy among its 1,500-strong crew, the airline said in a release yesterday.

Ted Green, cabin crew general manager, said: "Emirates has always been conscientious about sourcing the right people from various parts of the world. There are obvious advantages in the diversity as our passengers are also from various parts of the world."

Emirates has more than 55 nationalities among its cabin crew, including 17 Malaysians, two Maltese, 16 Thais and one Indonesian.

The selection criteria includes proficiency in English plus one other language.

In its current drive, Emirates is aiming to increase the number of crew members who can speak Indonesian, Thai, Cantonese, Mandarin and Malay from the respective Asian countries.

"The right attitude toward customer service is paramount to this job. Our crew are our ambassadors in the sky. Their role is projecting a consistently good image is a major contribution to Emirates' reputation," John Howard, the airline's recruitment manager, said.

Successful candidates will commence training in the airline's Dubai headquarters from early May and are expected to undertake their first flight in June.

All Emirates crew are based in Dubai, where they enjoy benefits such as company paid accommodation and overseas travel allowances. (hhr)