Jetwing wins second PATA Grand Award for Inspiring Youth
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Widely known as the home of Sri Lankan hospitality, Jetwing Hotels will receive its second PATA Grand Award this year on Education and Training for its ‘A Journey of Hope and Progress – The Jetwing Youth Development Project’ at the awards ceremony in Indonesia on September 9, 2016.
The Jetwing Youth Development Project (JYDP) first made history by winning the PATA Grand Award for Education and Training in 2007 followed by being identified as the Best Sustainability Project at the Best Corporate Citizen Award organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2014. Ten years since its inception it is a great honour for Jetwing Hotels to be once again bestowed with the PATA Grand Award for JYDP under the education and training category after having influenced the lives of 120 youth in the first project to now over 600 youth across 40 villages in the country. Thus far, 12 programmes have been successfully completed while 6 projects are ongoing nurturing many young dreams to fruition.
Been in the hospitality industry for over four decades Jetwing Hotels with 27 properties across the island offers not only the best of Sri Lankan hospitality but also engages in sustainable practices through its sustainable strategy. While resource efficiency, community upliftment, education and awareness are some of its key focus areas the project with its accolades remain one that echoes empowerment and giving back to the local community, which Jetwing prides itself on.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Awards are presented to outstanding entries in four principal categories: marketing; education and training; environment, and heritage and culture. It is a great honour for Jetwing Hotels to be recognized for its initiative of uplifting livelihood of the local community for the second time under the education and training category.
Understanding the perils of the youth in the local community and their potential Jetwing Hotels created the programme to form a bridge between the two needs; its necessity of personnel and the community’s need for education and job opportunities for their youth. The Jetwing Youth Development Project (JYDP) was designed to empower rural youth who are underprivileged and do not enjoy the opportunities for higher education or meaningful career prospects. Providing free training to school leavers from disadvantaged families in locations of Jetwing Hotels around the country, the programme offers both practical and theoretical training – ranging from English language proficiency, skill development, industry training – to prepare them for a career in the travel and tourism industry. Upon the successful completion of the six month program Jetwing Hotels guarantees employment to the youth within the Jetwing family unless chosen otherwise.