THE Sandals Corporate University (SCU) Days instituted at Beaches Ocho Rios has been a big hit with team members wishing to take up opportunities offered by the educational arm of the island’s leading tourism resort group.

As an addition to the many regular SCU training programmes delivered at the hotel, one day per month the resort’s training, development and human resources teams plan special activities and initiatives to educate the team outside of the usual classroom setting and to plot a realistic career development path for each individual.

So far the response from the team members has been tremendous, with many flocking the areas during the SCU Day in order to satiate their curiosity.

“SCU Day is the outreach initiative of the Sandals Corporate University, and the training department uses this tool to reach out to the team members on their forefront, taking to them all the areas we have to offer to them as it relates to their educational and personal development,” said Shaniel Cowans, Training and development manager at Beaches Ocho Rios.

“Most SCU Days we set up office in the staff restaurants instead of our usual training centre, and we also invite speakers from various institutions such as the Ministry of Labour and Child Development Agency to give talks about opportunities pertinent in those areas.”

It’s simply a matter of extending the regular Sandals Corporate University training beyond the classrooms into an environment more comfortable and familiar to team members, according to Cowans.

“We feature online courses and we take the opportunity to give our team members access to peruse our websites so they can know what educational programmes are accessible to them. We also focus on high school subjects that they may not have attained as well as their continuing education,” the training manager said.

During SCU Days, team members are also encouraged to complete their individual Sandals COMPASS (the resort’s competency sheet as it relates to their core job function) and how they can use that to improve themselves and their level of competence in their areas of expertise.

Team members are also encouraged to cross-train, either intra-department or outside of their departments, a Sandals release said yesterday.

While the SCU Day takes place once per month, the resort also offers mini sessions throughout the month via their ‘Table Talk Tuesdays’.

“We want to be close to their team members and ensure they know the SCU is there for them, therefore Table Talk Tuesdays are most one-on-one sessions to update our peers as to the additional opportunities that are out there for them,” Cowans explained.

General Manager Brian Roper expressed his pleasure at the initiative and the fact that team members have been taking advantage of the additional programmes.