TRAc – filling the HR gap in local hospitality sector
Increasing tourism related employment to 500,000 by 2016 is one of the key objectives of the Sri Lankan Tourism industry. Currently Sri Lanka is producing around 2000 trained hospitality staff a year. There is a huge need for qualified hospitality staff who can clearly understand the needs of the customer, then deliver. This is where TRAc comes in to play a part in filling the human resources gap of the hospitality industry by providing quality training and enhancing the competencies of the country’s young talent, says Natasha Bergenvik, CEO/Co-Founder TRAc .
“We are Vocational Training Company, training young adults in the field of hospitality and we focus on developing and adding value to the industry by training people to a high standard with a focus on communication skills. Our NVQ qualification will provide a platform and prepare well-rounded people for employment in hotel positions nationally and internationally,” she told the Business Times in an interview. A Craft-level Hospitality Training School for 18-24 year olds called TRAc International, which will help to satisfy some of the staffing gap that currently exists in the hospitality sector was opened recently, she says adding that training will commence with 200 students in June.
She added that TRAc goes out to the areas around the country to tell students about the hospitality sector. “We were in Matara two weeks back presenting to 1000 students for which we got 319 registrations and amazingly 38 per cent of which are female,” she said, dishing out an interesting statistic. TRAc has an assessment centre for trainees, she says adding that the first of which is on the 17th May at JAIC Hilton. “We currently have around 400 students who are interested in attending and we are a mix of foreign and local trainers.” She added that TRAc’s curriculum contains a blend of theory and practical which cover knowledge and skills required for careers in hospitality.
“We also deliver international quality English, Life skills and Customer Service training, developed by our Training Director currently unrivalled in Sri Lanka. Students can be confident that gaining this qualification is an excellent start to a promising career with truly global opportunities.”
She stressed that the intention is to produce hospitality professionals of international repute who are academically sound and posses the relevant practical skills to cater to the needs of the growing tourism industry worldwide.