Twenty-four young people successfully completed the six-week Hospitality Training Programme (HTP) offered by Sandals South Coast last week, and already eight of them have been confirmed in positions at the luxury-included resort.

The participants, some of whom have never worked in the hospitality industry before, were exposed to the operations of several departments within the hotel, including housekeeping, food and beverage, entertainment, human resources, watersports, front desk, and accounts.

At the end of the programme, they were each presented with a certificate of completion and letter of recommendation.

During the graduation ceremony, Training and Development Manager Lennox Lawrence lauded the group for their commitment to the programme as well as the value they brought to the team.

General Manager Adrian Whitehead also commended the group for persevering to the end and also reminded them that their completion of the programme is just the beginning. He encouraged the young people to not sit still with the knowledge they had gained, but to use it as a stepping stone and consistently seek out ways to build on their skills and expand their knowledge.

One of the participants, who will be working in Restaurant Services at the resort, 19-year old Sanjay Watson, received the award for most outstanding male trainee and was the valedictorian for the group.

Watson said he entered the training programme with the intention to shine and exceed expectations.

“I came here with one goal in mind, and that was to get the job,” he said. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy because Sandals is looking for the very best, so I knew I’d have to work hard and gather as much as I could.”

Prior to entering the Hospitality Training Programme, Watson worked at a call centre in Montego Bay but was never able to save enough money towards furthering his education, which is currently his main goal.

“Sandals is a phenomenal company that actively invests in people’s development and for someone like myself who wants to advance my career and grow as an individual, it is ideal. I’m excited about what the future holds.”

For 22-year-old Jodian Beckford, who is from Haughton, St Elizabeth, it was the desire to provide a better life for her young son that drove her to apply for the Sandals Hospitality Training Programme.

“I’m really thankful for Sandals and for this opportunity,” said Bckford, who has been placed in the resort’s housekeeping department. “I’ve never worked anywhere before, I was actually helping my mother in her cook shop in Haughton for the past several years, but lately the cook shop wasn’t making much money and as a single mother I needed a proper job that could help me to better care for my son.”

The Hospitality Training Programme, which Sandals initiated at its Negril-based resorts in 2006, has benefited thousands of young people from the communities and countries in which Sandals operates.

“The HTP initiative is yet another way in which Sandals continues to differentiate itself as a brand,” said Lawrence. “We’re not only investing in our team members through the numerous offerings of the Sandals Corporate University (SCU) but in the wider community through the Hospitality Training Programme.”

In 2016, more than 270 people from the Whitehouse, Westmoreland region alone were trained in the programme at Sandals South Coast and a number of these people are now said to be gainfully employed within the hotel industry.