The Bahamas Hotel Association along with the ministries of tourism and education will today move to the next phase of developing a tourism industry curriculum for local schools.
Launched earlier this year, the programme is aimed at addressing tourism industry needs and preparing students for careers in hospitality.
“Ultimately, this initiative can significantly transform education overall by infusing throughout the education system the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to succeed in the industry – attributes, which are relevant to success in life and society, as well as in the workplace,” a Bahamas Hotel Association statement said.
Over the next two weeks, approximately 150 educators from throughout the country will participate in a skills training forum that will give them first hand knowledge of the hospitality industry, career options in the sector, customer expectations and performance requirements.
Lessons learnt from the workshop will then be used to develop a series of exercises to update and revamp school curricula, the statement said.
The two-week sessions will be divided into six days of internship and four days of workshops and plenary meetings.
The first workshop was scheduled for this morning when the educators were expected to hold discussions with tourism industry leaders and human resources professionals.
The teachers and education administrators will get their first hands-on exposure to the hospitality industry tomorrow when they begin three days of internship at various businesses.
On Friday, the formal curriculum development process will begin when participants reassemble in workshops.
Participants will engage in another week of internships, discussions and curriculum development workshops from August 23 – 27.
“The objective of the internship and workshop is to identify ways in which the knowledge, skills and behaviour requirements of the industry can be better infused into the range of the education systemﾴs curricula and programmes,” the Hotel Association statement said.
“At the completion of the programme educators from all subject disciplines will have developed specific curriculum ideas and teaching tools, which can be incorporated into the schools. These will be presented to industry leaders for feedback on the final day.”
Designed to meet the objectives of the National Tourism Task Force on Education, the internship programme aims to encourage tourism industry partners to become part of a strategic planning process along with the Ministry of Education.
Other goals of the curriculum development initiative include generating recommendations that will foster improved work ethics, values and principles necessary to help make The Bahamas a destination of choice; and building an education system that promotes hospitality as a viable career alternative for all students.
Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
