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Thirty youth between the ages of 17 and 35 will be introduced to hospitality skills under a new Jamaica Social Investment Fund/Sandals Hospitality Training Initiative. Primarily funded under the World Bank through Inner City Basic Services Project (ICBSP) of JSIF, the project will officially commence on July 18, 2013 and last for 3 months.
Training to be undertaken in the areas of maintenance (including plumbers, stove technicians, electrician, A/C refrigeration), water sports, food and beverage, front office and housekeeping , is likely to lead to long term employment within the hospitality sector.
According to Loy Malcolm, general manager for project management with JSIF, “the Sandals Group, one of the leading local brands in hotel management, will for the first time assist the Fund as a government agency in providing comprehensive skills training for members of the work force who are in need of employment, but are without a marketable skill. The training will open a wide range of career options in hotel operations,” Malcolm states.
The collaboration is the first of its kind between the JSIF as a social development Fund, the Youth-For-Development Network based at the University of Technology and a Corporate organisation, Sandals Resorts International Limited which is a private entity in Jamaica.
Mark Pike, programmes manager, Sandals Resorts International stated at the launch, “Our partnership with JSIF in this skills training initiative is a continuation of our long relationship with the Flankers community in Montego Bay, Saint James. In order for the Hospitality industry to remain resilient, and the lives that depend on it, the quality of available human resources must be attuned to international standards of service.
“This is a cause Sandals believes in, not only for the sustainability of Sandals Resorts but for the general level of skills and service executed for the Destination Jamaica in tourism enterprises, as well as other sectors of the economy,” Pike said.
For JSIF, the training project represents a further intervention under the ICBSP which is a two-pronged initiative, focusing on the physical and social infrastructure of communities targeted for assistance. Under ICBSP, vulnerable groups are targeted for human and social capital strengthening; enhanced public safety; and provision of access to micro financing as well as basic infrastructure. Focus is also placed on other areas such as: land tenure, public safety, capacity building and employment, youth recreational and educational activities.
In the past Flankers has benefited from the construction of a community centre, road rehabilitation, removal of zinc fences and widening and paving of footpaths, social intervention programmes including Home Work and GSAT programme, Parenting Training, Conflict and Mediation and Skills training programmes .
Under this new progamme 30 persons within the 17-35 age group from the community of Flankers are targeted. The total cost of the current project is $4.1 million with the cost to JSIF being $3 million. As part of the condition for approval for funding, the Sponsor is required to make a minimum of 11% of the total project cost as contribution in cash or kind which includes facilitators, coordination and training venue amounting approximately $1.1 million .
Recruits will be subjected to the interview process used by the human resource department of Sandals, with special emphasis on social skills and aptitude as recruiting factors. It is noteworthy that the project idea is not new for Sandals itself.
Loy Malcolm states, “training at the Sandals resorts offers a unique opportunity for hands-on training alongside masters in the craft in a real resort.