Hotel staff benefit from training in Mauritius |26 April 2008

This follows the signing of an accord between the STA and the Constance and Beachcomber hotels in Mauritius, which will give Seychellois hotel staff in-service training at the two hotels’ academies.

The agreement is seen as a further boost to the joint effort between the STA and the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) to meet the crucial manpower demands of the tourism sector and ensure its continued progress.

Speaking at a press conference at the STB yesterday, STA head Flavien Joubert said training under the agreement is open only to former students of the academy who now work in small hotels owned by Seychellois.

This is so more Seychellois can learn about the industry in their specialist fields and improve their job prospects.
At the press conference was an initial group of two hotel staff, the first to leave the country under the agreement. They are pastry and cuisine specialist Stephen Morgan from La Reserve Hotel and sous executive chef Colin Arnephy from the Wharf. They leave today and are expected to spend an average of six weeks in Mauritius sharpening their skills.

They will be joined there by a young lecturer from the STA, Fadette Luc, who is also profiting from the programme. She will broaden her expertise in fitness and spa treatments, with the aim of coordinating a new curriculum in this field at the academy, beginning next year.

Mr Joubert said Miss Luc has already followed the initial part of her training at the Lemuria Hotel on Praslin and will spend three months in Mauritius to gain further skills that will allow her to run a fitness and spa course. Other lecturers will then be groomed to instruct on the course, to allow her to complete her studies outside the Indian Ocean region.

STB representative Peter Moncherry, whose organisation is lending great support to the Mauritian programme, was also at the press conference.