UNINTERESTED in languishing behind a desk all day? Maybe ‘roughing’ it as an entertainment co-ordinator with a schedue designed to keep the island’s visitors content is just the ticket.

Acleish Pearson, 24, is a playmaker/entertainment co-ordinator at Sandals Negril Beach Resort and Spa. He shares with us this week his exciting and fulfilling, if at times, hectic world.

Who is a playmaker/entertainment co-ordinator?

A playmaker is an individual who puts together events, activities and programmes for our guests. And we try to ensure that everybody is pleased, though it is a hard task.

What does your job entail?

It is not just about making people happy. It can go a bit wider than that. We tend to socialise and interact most with the guests so our responsibilities entail finding out what concerns, problems, issues they may have and finding the best way to deal with it – whether it be that you solve that problem yourself or you find someone else who can deal with it. It also entails following up with the guests and the individual you seek to solve the problem to ensure that the problem has been solved.

What is significant about the work that you do?

It is significant in that yes, you have guests who come for the sea, sand, sun and the beautiful rooms. But in between that, they are going to need some form of recreation and we are the ones who ensure that all of that is put in place and set to suit as many of our clients as possible. You can have beautiful rooms, a whole lot of drinks, the sunshine and the sea, but to make it an even more ‘wow’ vacation, you need something more in terms of sharing the culture of the country and having a little bit of laughter in the package. That is where we come in.

How do you feel about your career?

I just got the chance to go on a cruise and party with Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends – Holly, Kendra, and Bridgette. That is an indication of the fact that it is a hip job. How often do you get the chance to meet stars of this calibre? It is something that puts you in the limelight, and you don’t know what doors will open for you on any given day. Any person, who thinks that a hip job is what they want, this is the job to apply for. You party day and night.

Why did you get involved in the field?

First, I am not the kind of person to just sit in an office, and I don’t see, myself as one to be always in the sun either. It (entertainment co-ordinating/playmaking) allows me to be involved in a little of everything – from playing volleyball, to doing office work, inventory and writing programmes. So you are not bored. It doesn’t allow you to be bored. It is something that keeps an active person active.

As a playmaker, what are the employment/career options that are open to you?

Entertainment co-ordinators are known to move from being co-ordinators to much greater things. You have co-ordinators who are now general managers, sales managers, coordinators who are radio and TV hosts. And if you should check the history, persons in other fields were once co-ordinators too. It allows you as an individual to grow not only on a professional level but also on a personal level, in terms of confidence and a whole lot more.

Outside of Sandals Negril, where have you been employed?

Beaches Boscobel, Point Village Resort in Negril, and Breezes Montego Bay.

What are the academic requirements for getting into the field?

Some resorts accept persons with at least high school passes. For us (at Sandals), I would say you must be a high school graduate with social skills. You must be talented in some way – whether it be in singing, dancing, acting. Some members of my team are great at décor and others at script writing. You have persons who can do a bit of carpentry or electrical engineering so it builds a great mix, and has the team as one big body working together.

What is a typical day like for you?

I don’t know if there is such a thing as a typical day. There is always something new and different. You have new challenges and new events, and you deal with things as they pop up, pretty much.

What sort of earnings are there to be made as an entertainment co-ordinator?

A newcomer would earn for the week $10,000. The good thing about being an entertainment co-ordinator with a hotel, or at least here at Sandals, is that accommodation, food, uniform along with other benefits, such as health and life insurance, the company does all of that for us. So whatever earnings you make can be saved to the fullest. You can save pretty much all, if not most, of your money.

Why would you encourage anyone to become an entertainment coordiantor?

If you are leaving high school or college and you aren’t sure what your next plan should be, this is a job that gives you a year or two to work or save and probably open doors or your mind as to what you can move on to.

Saving is a big part of what being an entertainment co-ordinator assists you to do. It opens doors for you to move on to other areas in that you can be an entertainment co-ordinator, and based on your qualifications and performance you can be promoted to a position of manager of some other department. Based on how much drive you have as an entertainment co-ordinator, it can take you way beyond that in the hotel industry, especially at Sandals.

NOTE: Pearson was educated at Petersfield High School in Westmoreland before going on to do a number of certificate courses through the evening class programme at the Mannings School, also in that parish. He has also done scriptwriting and video editing courses through the Association of Clubs in the parish.