Students get a close up view of hospitality careers

Some ten aspiring hoteliers from The Ellerslie School have received firsthand experience on the inner workings of the industry.

This occurred last week when the sixth form students culminated their visit to hotels across the island, as part of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) initiative, at Sandals Barbados and Royal at Maxwell, Christ Church.

These students are currently studying to take Tourism examinations at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level this year. Officials from Sandals, including Learning and Development Manager Akil Lewis and Communications Manager David Hinds, met and hosted the students as they asked several questions in relation to the hotel and tourism industry in Barbados. 

School teacher Lisa Dottin thanked Sandals for its hospitality, saying the experience benefited  the students significantly. This was especially since they could meet employees in departments which are not too often highlighted like accounts, the environmental health team, warehouse staff, as well as members of the communications and information technology departments. 

“This was a great experience for them to see firsthand the various categories of hotels across Barbados and will be a great help in preparation for their exams,” said Dottin.

Sandals Barbados boasts 618 rooms, making it the largest hotel in Barbados and currently employs approximately 1, 250 team members.

Human Resources Manager Kim Henry-Charles added: “What we did here was to show the students that there is more to the hospitality industry than traditional careers such as chefs, receptionists and housekeepers… This bodes well for recruitment in the future and they are now aware of some of the many opportunities the industry provides.”

Lewis reiterated Sandals’ pleasure to jump on this opportunity to show these young men and women what is done at Sandals and open their eyes to the world of all-inclusive hotels. “They were eager to learn and asked some very interesting questions. We hope they were inspired to become part of the tourism project,” said Lewis.

The BHTA facilitated the visit to the hotels at varying levels, which included the Adulo Apartments, Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, South Beach Hotel and Infinity on the Beach. Sandals was selected as their luxury class hotel visit. 

(KC)