Students Attend Development Seminar in Mandeville

Students from schools and colleges in the parishes of Manchester and St. Elizabeth attended a development seminar at the Anglican Church Hall in Mandeville on February 27.
The seminar was sponsored by members of the All Professional Training Service (APTS).
In her address at the opening, Minister of Education and Youth, Maxine Henry Wilson encouraged the students to be aware of the importance of professional service, as this would lead to positive results and enable them to compete in the global market.
“Service has international standards now. It’s not what you and I want to do in our little community that is going to cut it,” she insisted, adding that persons would have “to log on to international standards, to speak an international language and to communicate in that language”.
The Minister explained that in transforming the education system, young people are being given a chance to be on the cutting edge. “When we talk about education and being a part of the system, we are not just talking about what happens in the classroom, but about forming the whole person,” she added.
Mrs. Henry Wilson argued that creating the whole person would include the involvement of institutions which could provide students with the knowledge and skills in becoming professional service providers.
“We say Jamaica is beautiful, but it’s not just beauty that persons come to a country for.they come for service. If someone goes into a hotel and the service is poor he or she may never go back to that country,” she said.
Meanwhile, organizer of the seminar, Sonia Brown said its purpose was to bring awareness to students on how to function in various organizations.
“The theme of the seminar is ‘Quality Service – Our Future’. We want to prepare them, to mold and groom them into the future of work, where they are expected to perform and deliver the quality service that the customer demands,” she said.
Among the presenters at the seminar were Shawna Housen of the Jamaica Tourist Board and Grace Mullings of the HEART Trust/NTA, who spoke about the ‘Importance of Service in the Tourism Industry’ and ‘Quality Customer Care’, respectively.
The APTS was formed in 1995 with the aim of developing staff in various organizations to provide better service to customers and their respective companies, and also assist with the fostering of good relationships among management, workers and their customers.