Flight attendant school mulls presence in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — The International Cabin Attendant Training School (ICATs) is seriously considering to invest on a permanent training school in Cebu.

In an interview with ICATs President and Chief Executive Officer Princess Joy Garcia over the weekend, following the encouraging results of the special 20-day training, she said Cebu has proven to be a good expansion ground for its business. The first 20-day special training session currently being held in Cebu has attracted a significant number of enrolees.

According to Garcia, Cebu being the educational hub in Southern Philippines offers good opportunity for specialized training centers like ICATS, in order to make this highly specialized profession easily accessible to would-be flight attendants.

This high-paying profession is also becoming in demand nowadays. As local and foreign airlines expand their fleets, they are also in constant need for more flight attendants that will serve both domestic and global routes.

There are 12 FA Training Institutions in the Philippines, only five of which are active in the industry including ICATS.

Garcia said ICATS may permanently join Cebu's specialized educational sector soon. None so far has established permanent presence in Cebu.

Aside from the tourism graduates, who are most likely to qualify for the training, Garcia noted that demand for FAs with medical backgrounds such as nurses is likewise on the rise.

Nurses who turned FAs are paid higher, she added.

The company is set to gold a special training session in Cebu, starting on October 23 to November 11 at the Cebu Parklane Hotel.

Aside from the growing number of airlines entering the Philippines, and expansion of flight frequencies of existing carriers, the demand for Filipino FAs continues to rise as foreign airlines prefer to hire Filipino FAs because of their inherent friendliness, hospitality and warmth.

Since its establishment eight years ago, ICATS already graduated close to 800 FAs, who are mostly employed by international airlines, Garcia added. (FREEMAN)