Tourism management programme launched in high schools

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has officially launched the Hospitality and Tourism Management Programme (HTMP) for high schools.

The HTMP is a first-of-its-kind certification programme developed by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) and will allow students to gain entry-level qualification in tourism.

Speaking at the handover of HTMP books to students and teachers at the official launch at Spot Valley High School recently, Bartlett explained that "the objective of providing skills training and enabling certification of competence is one of the basic and fundamental development that must happen in ensuring the building of the human capital within our country and specifically tourism. This has become even more necessary as the sector experiences exponential growth.

"Fifty years ago, 400,000 people visited Jamaica and spent US$87million; last year, 4.3 million people visited the island and spent US$3 billion. In the same period, 50 years ago, we employed 9,000 people; and this year, up to August, we employed 120,000 people directly."

Launch

The Ministry of Tourism provided $100 million to launch the HTMP, an initiative being done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information. The programme will be delivered in conjunction with colleges participating in the Centre of Occupational Studies programme, which facilitates technical training and certification at the college level.

Bartlett added: "Tourism is now a profession which requires training. The business of the industry is always about giving higher service and higher value to the visitor, so in order to do that, we have to equip you with higher levels of skills to have more knowledge, more information, and to be able to apply the information in a more creative and valuable way.

"We are doing this in two folds, training our high-school students through this HTMP and also building the professional cadre in the industry, and by providing a pathway to professionalism for those who are currently working in the industry, through the Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation."

The centre was born out of Vision 2030's Tourism Sector Development Plan, which calls for the establishment of a training institution focused on developing a management cadre with the skills, knowledge and motivation required by tourism entities. It will facilitate the certification and licensure of Jamaicans working in tourism as well as facilitate innovation in tourism. In April this year, there were more than 150 graduates who acquired associate degrees in customer service, and gained AHLEI certification, NVQJ certification, and Customer Service Industry Association recognition."