Sandals to focus on local area development through training
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Sandals resorts in the Montego Bay region will continue their partnership with the Social Development Commission (SDC) to host a two-day entrepreneurial and skills training workshop later this month. A total of 70 young adults living in the communities within the Cambridge Development Area will be specially targeted and will be engaged in various interactive and intense business and hospitality training sessions.
The workshops will be hosted and sponsored by Sandals Resorts (Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean) and are aimed at revitalising existing business ventures within the communities.
The announcement came as Sandals Resorts observed World Tourism Day, on September 27, under the theme: Tourism and Community Development.
The resorts said in a release that the decision to facilitate the initiative follows recent stakeholders meetings with the SDC and the Cambridge Development Area Committee (CDAC).
“According to the SDC reports, among the 13 communities within the development areas, there exists a huge amount of resources and opportunities for economic development. As such, members of the CDAC will help to effectively reach those persons who aspire to start or retain small business enterprises and /or work within the hospitality industry,” Sandals said.
The workshops will be facilitated by representatives from the Montego Bay business community and will cover areas on business management and planning, sales and marketing, business ethics, customer service, product development and hospitality training skills.
Melton Blackwood, acting chairman of the CDAC, noted that “the major economic activity in the development area is centred on farming, livestock and tourism”.
He further explained that “with a decline in agricultural production and the discontinuation of the tourist coach (rail service between Montego Bay and Appleton), unemployment rates have increased significantly, resulting in marked underdevelopment of residents and, by extension, communities within the development area”.
Sandals’ regional public relations manager Khadine Daley noted that the expected long-term outcome of the workshops is to see sustainable job growth, thriving and healthy communities.
