The events planning and management skills of the year-two hotel and tourism management students of Portmore Community College’s (PCC) Old Harbour Campus were put on display Wednesday with the grand launch of their newly renovated Hospitality and Tourism centre.

The facility has been equipped with industrial equipment that will expose students to world-class techniques necessary for their professional development.

“The growth of the Old Harbour campus from a place of very limited resources on the grounds of Old Harbour Primary School is remarkable. We had a building that was unsuitable for the task that we had set out to do. The kitchen was divided by a set of metal cabinets, and there were standing boards used to separate another area for those students doing housekeeping,” principal Corinne Richards explained.

But even in the face of inadequate space and equipment, Richards said, the staff of the 15-year-old institution have managed to deliver quality education in varying programmes, including business administration, hotel and tourism management and continuing studies for people sitting Caribbean Examinations Council exams.

“It is indeed a proud moment, having heard of and seen growth that we have achieved as an institution. There were several challenges, a major part being related to our finances, but the supportive staff and dedicated students certainly made the task less burdensome,” Richards said.

Senior hotel and tourism management lecturer Omar Frith commended the students for acknowledging the sacrifice that the institution made to ensure that they had access to workplace-ready facilities and equipment.

“The work that is on display here today is that of students who have been tasked with executing the lessons learned in their events planning course, and they decided that the work that was invested to ensure that students enrolled in this programme could access comparable educational technologies in this industry,” Frith told Career and Education.

Frith was not the only one who lauded the students for their efforts. Dr Verona Williams, head of Business and Professional Studies at PCC, said she was impressed by the level of maturity and professionalism the students displayed.

“This is a vision for the development of Jamaica, and not only of our institution. We laud our students, seeing the growth of the institution and recognising that the centre could do with an official opening. Thank you for having committed to the execution of this launch; you have adequately reflected that you have mastered the elements of the course, and for that we all are proud,” Williams said.

Chairman of the Old Harbour Development Area Committee Randy Finnikin told the gathering that the development of the community college will produce highly skilled professionals necessary to meet the demands of the tourism town into which Old Harbour will be transformed.

“This is a symbol that this campus will contribute to brand Old Harbour. We are conscious of Old Harbour’s potential to be the next tourism hotspot and I believe that with the kind of foundation that is being laid, attaining that dream is closer,” Finnikin said.

The event was topped off with entertainment from Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) five-time gold medallists, PCC’s own Iyakah Drummerz.

— Penda Honeyghan