Blog
Career choice: Five insights for parents and youth
By Hassan Saeed
One of the most common Rumi quotes goes like this:
“You are born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?”
Every one of us is capable of great things on our own. We have the potential to reach whatever peak we aim for.
Yet we depend on too many people and too many ‘things’ to realise our dreams. Some among us look for opportunities instead of creating their own. We speak of ‘luck’ as the elusive ‘hand of God’ that elevates or pulls people down.
In reality, we are all victims of cultural narratives that our society had been perpetuating for decades. Too many times, in collectivist societies, career choice is heavily influenced by parents and family. Guidance and inspiration is not necessarily a bad thing but too many parents secretly wishing that their children follow THEIR ideal careers instead of pursuing the children’s’ own, is depriving too many young people of wonderful life experiences. When parents, in most cases, unknowingly start guiding, nudging and emotionally blackmailing children to choose a particular career, this results in many career and personality mismatches.
We live in a complex world. Uncertainty and insecurity are part of the 21st-century world. Adaptability is an important trait for survival and success. We all try to find meaning in what we do. Some of us find meaning in things in which others see nothing but a triviality.
Every community needs many different professions. If we wish to promote a culture of equality and respect, we should not consider one profession to be better than the other. Every working individual adds value to society.
Help the child get out of societal narratives
It is perfectly alright for parents to wish the best of everything for their children.
As a society, we have set ways of doing things. We have certain professions that we value above others. Many parents encourage their children to read law, study science to become engineers and doctors or pursue a PhD. We are implicitly biased towards certain professions and no one will admit to it. More often than not, we are not aware of this bias. The role models we see are those in the news or who are famous.
Children do not have to fit into a certain narrative. A family of doctors doesn’t always need to ‘produce doctors’.
Children go through phases – many of these are short-lived
School systems promote professions. Very often we see young boys and girls dress up in colourful costumes. Many dress as firemen, air hostesses and nurses. If you ask little girls why they would want to become air hostesses, they often respond that they are pretty, their dresses are beautiful and gives them the opportunity to put on makeup and lipstick.
As these children grow, they change their minds and become interested in other things.
I used to fancy becoming a meteorological officer as we listened to weather reports on the radio. At one point, I was interested in becoming a horticulturist. Plants are fascinating and as kids growing up, we helped our dad with planting banana trees and caring for the giant lime tree in our backyard. I changed my mind a few years later.
A kid’s first interest can just be a fleeting sense of curiosity. If we as parents reinforce this, we may, in the long run, end up doing more harm than good for the kid’s life.
Encourage children to try new things
The Roger versus Tiger approach to parenting is an interesting phenomenon. David Epstein, author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World, explains the case of Roger Federer, the Tennis star and Tiger Woods, perhaps the best golfer of our time.
The parental approach from Federer and Woods in stark contrast to each other. While Tiger was nudged, encouraged and rigorously trained by his Dad from a very early age, Federer did not play serious tennis until his late teens.
While early specialisation may work for some skills like golf and chess (kind learning environments), many professions are more complex and life is a wicked learning environment. Those who are exposed to many things from an early age go on to develop a greater appreciation for life and others around them.
Seeking help is not a sign of weakness
Career counselling is new in some societies. Whenever I come into contact with young people, educators and their parents, one thing becomes very clear. We all have sets of expectations from one another but we aren’t always ready or willing to take the other person’s perspective.
Most young people are not sure about many things. They know that their parents have certain expectations when it comes to their careers and lives but do not necessarily agree with them.
When there is no constructive dialogue between these parties, many differences go unreconciled until students leave school and start living.
We have to facilitate career guidance and counselling for young people. Schools, educators and parents must understand the need for allowing young people to have doubts and encourage more conversation so that these doubts can be cleared and for them to have clearer visions of their future.
It is never too late to learn a new skill
The pace of change in technology, economic downturns and globalisation mean some of us will have to retrain to pursue different careers sometime in our lives.
This global pandemic we are living through now has already made some of us redundant. Adaptability and flexibility are one of the most important skills for the 21st-century worker.
Lifelong learning is an important paradigm that our children will have to become comfortable with. I have a son and daughter who are pursuing business degrees and one of my wisest friends have asked me to advice them to defer their business degrees and start working full-time in an industry that will likely flourish through this economic recovery process. His advice is that you can always go back and complete that degree.
Earning a decent living for oneself is perhaps a greater accomplishment than degrees and certificates. Time, knowledge and skills need to be put to good use.
My career is filled with zigzags and shuffles. From hospitality to failed entrepreneurship to politics to teaching and back to hospitality.
I did not follow a typical career path and my advice to young people is that they need to try as many things as possible before settling on one career path. We should not punish ourselves for choosing a career that we later find out is not as exciting as we thought it will be.
People change, things change and our outlook on life changes many times during the course of our lives and there is nothing wrong about it.
As parents, our role is to guide our children and show them the pros and cons of many professions so that they can choose one that suits THEM best.
Note: Hassan Saeed is a highly experienced hotel/resort manager from the Maldives. He currently serves as the Resort Manager at Dhigali Maldives, a luxury resort in the northern Raa atoll.
Blog
How to diversify Maldives’ tourism-heavy economy
By Sonu Shivdasani
At Soneva, we adhere to the principle that local is best. Whether it’s food produced by our organic vegetable gardens or the fish we source from neighbourhood fishermen, local produce is always fresher, better tasting, and more sustainable.
Producing things within the country, rather than importing everything from abroad, also makes economic sense. And the greater variety of products and services you produce in-house, the easier it is to diversify the economy, making it more resilient.
In an Op-ed that I wrote last year, I mentioned that, “The Maldives is one of the world’s best places to operate a resort. And yet, the cost of borrowing the money to build one is eye-wateringly high. How do we explain this paradox?”
During a recent conversation with a Male-based banker, I was told why lending rates in the Maldives are so high: there is a perception of risk among the financial community because the Maldivian economy is so dependent on tourism.
As Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih, said during his National Day speech on November 11, 2020: “Covid-19 has made us realise our economy cannot solely depend on tourism. This is something we have always debated, yet failed to adequately address.”
It’s easy to understand why the Maldives wants to put some of its eggs in baskets other than tourism. Covid-19 has swung a wrecking ball at Maldivian tourism, which in turn has devastated the government’s finances, foreign currency reserves, and the value of the Ruffiya, which are all dependent on tourist dollars.
Though tourism is recovering since the border reopened in July, and many resorts (including Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani) are currently as busy as they were last year, a few good months at the end of the year won’t make up for the carnage of March-July. And so, how to diversify the Maldives — a country that’s 99 per cent ocean, and with a small population?
Extracting better value from Maldives’ fish catch
An obvious place to start is in areas the Maldives already does well: fishing. Although the Maldivian fishing industry is already large, much of the value of the fish is in the processing, not the catching.
Here, the Maldives could improve. Instead of selling frozen, whole tuna to Thailand, more money would be made if all Maldivian fish were canned in the Maldives. The fisheries ministry recently said as much; announcing plans to expand cold fish storage.
The branding of Maldivian tuna could also be enhanced. The Maldives operates the world’s most sustainable fishing fleet. Every fish is caught by hand, with a pole and line, one-by-one. Nets and long-lines are banned, meaning there is almost no by-catch of sharks, turtles, dolphins and other charismatic or endangered sea creatures.
More could be made of this inherent strength, especially as consumers in Western export markets demand more sustainable food. Maldivian tourism is globally renowned for being the world’s most luxurious. Maldivian fish should be equally known as the world’s most environmentally friendly.
Growing our own food
Although the Maldives is 99 per cent sea, let us not forget about what can be done on that 1 percent of land. It’s heartening to see a big government push towards growing more food. There is huge demand, especially from resorts, for locally-grown, fresh produce.
Both Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani have highly productive fruit, vegetable and herb gardens that supply the bulk of the ingredients for our restaurants. What we don’t produce ourselves, we strive to buy locally to maintain freshness and reduce carbon emissions. Over the summer Soneva also released a series of video tutorials based on our experiences, showing ways to farm in the Maldives, either on a commercial scale or in a window box.
Looking beyond farming and fishing, another opportunity the Maldives could explore further is its relationship with India.
The $1.4 billion assistance granted by India in 2018, and the more recent economic aid package, have both been of great help. But, rather than aid, the Maldives should engage with India to see how it can grow its economy both through tourism and non-tourism means to develop closer ties with this populous and economically significant neighbour.
Potential offshore financial hub
For example, the Maldives could enter into a double tax treaty with India. The Maldives could also negotiate with India, to allow Indian citizens to make personal investments in the Maldives and be able to remit more than $250,000 — the current Reserve Bank of India limit on any foreign currency remittance by an Indian in a particular year. In addition to this, perhaps more Indians could be allowed to pay for personal investments in the Maldives with Rupees. These Rupees could then be used by the Maldives to buy Indian goods.
With a double tax treaty with India in place, the Maldives could explore the opportunity to become a financial centre. Could the Maldives become India’s offshore financial centre, playing a similar role that Hong Kong does to China?
There is a closer Indian Ocean example; in 1989, Mauritius’ government decided that its economy was too dependent on tourism and sugarcane, so it chose to make the country an offshore financial centre.
Mauritius initiated double tax treaties with 18 African countries and India. Like the Maldives, Mauritius’s tax rate was considerably lower than the 18 African neighbours and India. As a result, foreign investors who wanted to invest in India or these 18 African countries set up companies in Mauritius, helping them to legally reduce their tax bills. There are now 20,000 offshore Mauritius companies.
On average, the basic statutory fees that the Mauritius government charges, such as directors fees, and stamp duties for operating companies, come to $5,000 per year. For all the offshore companies registered in the country, these fees tally up to $100 million per year — a huge source of revenue for the government.
Moreover, according to a recent report, Mauritius-incorporated offshore companies have $630 billion of assets. This is 50 times Mauritius’ GDP. If we assume that these companies achieve a 10 per cent return on capital, that means they have net profits of around $63 billion. It is likely that the Mauritius government received more than one per cent of these profits as taxes. Even at one per cent, this is the equivalent of $630 million of revenue to the government.
It has taken Mauritius 30 years to get to where it is. If the Maldives starts today, potentially in 30 years’ time, the government could generate more revenue from offshore finance than from tourism. There are many considerations when setting up an offshore centre. We have recently seen a global backlash against tax havens, so this will require a lot of thought and consideration. But, it is an opportunity.
Second-home schemes and outsourcing
Introducing second home schemes for foreigners is another way to diversify the economy. The government recently changed the law to allow foreigners to become resident in the Maldives if they invest $250,000 dollars, and deposit another quarter of a million in a local bank’s fixed deposit account for at least five years. Similar programmes, in countries such as Malaysia, are very popular. They make it easier for the government to sell debt and help ease dollar shortages.
Lastly, the Maldives could also look to offshore business process outsourcing, which has made cities such as Bangalore wealthy. These days, a British or American customer ringing into a bank call centre is as likely to speak with someone sitting in Bangalore or Hyderabad as Birmingham or Houston. While the Maldives does not have the huge pool of labour that India does, young Maldivians speak English well, so offshore processing could be done, albeit at a smaller scale.
The Maldives has paid a heavy price this year for its over-dependence on tourism. Nobody predicted Covid-19, or the impact it has had on the economy. But, as any good investor will tell you, the best way to mitigate risk is through diversification.
Editor’s Note: This op-ed was originally published on Linkedin by Sonu Shivdasani. Sonu is the founder and CEO of Soneva, which owns luxury resorts Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani in the Maldives, and Soneva Kiri in Thailand.
Blog
A day in the life of Amilla Maldives’ HR Special Projects Manager
Hussain is a well-known face at Amilla Maldives as the resort’s energetic Assistant Manager of Recreation. With lower demand due to the pandemic this year, Hussain pivoted to a three-month secondment in HR Special Projects.
These unique projects are aimed at maximising the quality of life for everyone working at Amilla. They range from renovating the Islanders’ accommodation block to transforming the staff bar into a chilled-out café-style community space.
This dynamic and multi-talented Islander has also helped plan and run staff events — creating some dazzling decorations in the process. He has even channelled his inner artist to create paintings to brighten up staff areas.
Hussain originally hails from Kurendhoo, a small island in Lhaviyani Atoll. We caught up with him to find out more about how he’s ringing in the changes behind the scenes at Amilla.
How does a typical day begin for you?
With my current role, I don’t so much follow time as follow projects and people. So, I normally wake up around 6am, read the news from the Maldives and around the world for half an hour, do 15 minutes of stretching and warming up for the day, take a shower and then I’m ready to start my day.
Often, when I start something, I’ll have to finish it, otherwise I just cannot sleep! So, sometimes, if I had a late night, I’ll wake up at around 7am but never later than 7.30am, so I can get things done.
Every day can be different depending on my tasks, but one of my favourite things to do is making decorations for staff events. Everybody says I’m really good at it. I also like doing carpentry and painting abstract stuff. The management has given me a lot of opportunities to try out new ideas and the freedom to learn new things, which I really appreciate.
How closely do you work with the other Islanders on your projects?
The best resource of any company is their staff. If we don’t care for them, they won’t enjoy their jobs or their life with us. So, our first priority is always our staff and our guests.
Getting feedback every day is the biggest thing in HR Special Projects. Before we make any new service or changes, we get feedback from the staff. That’s because we need to give them what they want where this is possible. Normally, lunchtime is the best time to go speak to them. The best way I’ve found to do it is to have a friendly chat. I just go to wherever they are, have a coffee with them, then ask them in a friendly way. Otherwise, if I just ask them formally, they might not open up.
What has been your favourite special project to work on so far?
I thought something I really had to do was provide what the Islanders really need, so I started working with the Bliss tuck shop, because it’s difficult to get what they need from other islands, especially with the Covid-19 restrictions. So, I’ve changed the concept and created more options as well as redesigned the shop. Red Bull is the most popular item, of course! It’s their basic need, they enjoy it a lot. But although we have a canteen, we didn’t have anything like a café area for them to enjoy the drinks they bought from the shop.
What was the solution?
We have a nice bar which needs a little attention to evolve the concept into something new because as Maldivians, with our culture, we’re not allowed to drink alcohol. So, if we have a bar where people think it only serves alcohol, it means some of the staff can be there, but some might not feel comfortable. I’m leading on the project to transform the bar into an area where the Maldivian staff and expat staff can enjoy things together as one family. This new concept will be more than a bar, it’ll be more like a café area where staff can also do things like book a cinema night, or celebrate a private birthday party with their friends, and so on.
How did you end up in this special projects secondment?
I went back to my island when the Covid-19 pandemic hit but they called me to ask if I was interested in this role. Before this I was working in recreation. I love being active and working with guests and wanted to be back at Amilla with this new opportunity to help me grow and have new experiences.
Can you tell us about your journey to working in recreation?
When I was a teenager, I loved sports and I wanted to play sports professionally, but unfortunately there weren’t many opportunities in the Maldives at the time, so I decided it wasn’t a good idea. Then I decided that recreation at a resort would be a good job because then you get to do everything. But it was hard to get into, so I actually started working in childcare at another resort.
I love kids and it was fun. I spent four years there and became Kids Club Manager, but I still wanted to get into recreation. So, I took a step down to become a Recreation Supervisor at another resort and then finally became Recreation Manager. It was hard to take a step backwards, but it was worth it .
Then I got a knee injury and couldn’t do sports anymore. I had to slow down and from there I decided to learn more about creative art and tennis too. Then this year I got offered the chance to join the HR team, taking care of special projects and staff communications.
I learned one thing from my past; I didn’t follow my passion when I was a teenager to become a professional sports player because of the restrictions including my injury. But I ended up learning many other things that I can use to create beautiful things or to make magic, as our HR Director says! And now with the knowledge and experience I have, I just want to help other people to be happy and follow their passions.
For more information about the resort and bookings, please email sales@amilla.mv or visit www.amilla.com
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Sustainable development of coral reefs at Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives
Renowned for its iconic stunning over-water suites, Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives is a beautiful tropical island resort offering exclusive access to the classic Pasta Point surf break, described as the “wave-machine” of the North Malé Atoll due to its consistent four to six foot waves.
Green Globe recently recertified Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives.
The resort first started their coral restoration project in 2018 to help replenish diminishing coral reefs and have continued to develop this initiative since then.
“Coral reefs represent some of the world’s most spectacular beauty spots. They are also the foundation of marine life, without them many of the sea’s most exquisite species will not survive,” Sanjeeva Perera, General Manager at the resort, explained.
“The awareness and in-depth knowledge we receive from Green Globe during the recertification process continues to guide us on the correct path to take in the bold steps forward toward the sustainable development of coral reefs that will benefit future generations in the Maldives.”
Coral reefs in oceans all around the world are dying. It is estimated that nearly one sixth of these reefs will be dead within the next twenty years.
In keeping with the commitment of Green Globe members to manage and operate businesses to the highest level of sustainability, the Cinnamon Dhonveli team initiated this mariculture project two years ago focusing on the pre-emptive restoration and rejuvenation of reefs affected by coral bleaching.
The project uses ‘reef balls’ as artificial reef structures implanted with Mari corals that are cultivated in special nurseries. The reef balls are then transplanted onto the bare substrate to grow.
With marine conservation at the heart of their sustainability vision, the Cinnamon Dhonveli team is committed to making their artificial coral reef propagation project a great success in the Maldives.
They also aim to set up a Marine Discovery Centre to educate visiting youth and children in coral reef propagation, environmental awareness, and the rearing and rescue of sea turtles.
Located no more than a 25-minute speedboat ride from the main Velana International Airport, Dhonveli’s proximity and diversity combine to make it one of the most popular destinations in the Maldives.
The island is constantly buzzing with action as divers, surfers and beach bums alike find a common ground in the world of excitement this little island has to offer. Magnificent waves and a policy of sustainable surfing combine to make Pasta Point at Cinnamon Dhonveli one of the most sought after surfing locations by award-winning surfers from around the world.
Large families, groups of friends, divers and snorkelling buffs all seem to find a comfortable common ground in the heady atmosphere of the 16-acre island as well. Sink your teeth into our succulent seafood and indulge in the theme nights at each of the three restaurants with the best of international cuisine. Unwind at the spa or sink into the comforts of the 148 plush rooms.
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