Gov’t Welcomes Initiative to Train Youngsters for Tourism Sector

Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun N’Dombet Assamba, has said that the government welcomes the initiative by the United States-based Recycling Inspiration (RI) to assist in training young Jamaicans for jobs in the tourism industry. “Tourism is very important to Jamaica. It is one of the largest industries in the country, directly employing over 70, 000 individuals and another 150, 000 indirectly,” Mrs. Assamba stated.
She was speaking at a recent ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a skills training centre on the grounds of the SuperClubs Grand Lido Braco Resort in Trelawny.
According to the Tourism Minister, while more and more Jamaicans are showing interest in hospitality training, there is a three-year waiting list for entry to the hospitality training programme offered by the HEART Trust/NTA.
“This is something that we will have to work on very fast. It is very important for us to keep the training going because we have been building new hotel rooms and in the next five years, we will have a total of about 12, 000 new rooms and with that we will need more trained people,” she pointed out, noting that the initiative by RI was timely.
Chief Executive Officer and Founder of RI, Xavier Artis, explained that the training initiative, which is part of the RI Fellows Exchange Programme, will be implemented in collaboration with the HEART Trust and SuperClubs.
The programme will involve US college graduates spending six months to one year in Jamaica, where they would be trained and certified by HEART to prepare trainees for jobs in the tourism sector.
“The skills the locals will attain through the programme include (but are not limited to) business, administration, hospitality and entertainment,” Mr. Artis said.
In addition to providing the land for the training facility, SuperClubs has also committed to provide over 300 job opportunities for the Jamaican trainees.
The training facility will be built by local contractors Nakash Construction and Equipment Company.