Korea Lanka Hotel School: World of opportunity for beginners
As the tourism industry is now slowly getting back to its usual rhythm after the deadliest terror attack on Easter Sunday, the Lonely Planet, one of the largest travel guide books and trip advisory in the world, has renewed their January declaration of Sri Lanka, as ‘the number one destination for 2019’.
While the skilled hospitality staff gets layoff, some are moving overseas for greener pasture, making things worse for the industry. Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), the major producer of the skilled staff to the hospitality industry, has found it difficult to meet the demand alone.
The newly started Korea Lanka Hospitality and Hotel Management School (KLHHMS) in Wattala is an ideal alternative arm to the current situation to help the industry. ‘Korea Lanka Hospitality and Hotel Management School’ managed by Good Partners, which is an international NGO based in the Republic of South Korea aimed at supporting Medical and Educational Services to underdeveloped countries. Good Partners obtained its registration in Sri Lanka as a Voluntary Social Service and Non-Governmental Organisation from the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organisations of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development of Sri Lanka in 2014.
‘Since 2014 Good Partners has dedicated to bring meaningful life transformation to Sri Lanka`s most marginalised People. We look forward to world where every person is equally entitled to human rights and has opportunities to flourish under our new project Korea Lanka Hospitality and Hotel Management School’ said Judy Nam, the Manager of the Hotel School project.
In the light of Tourism market demand and supply gap in Sri Lanka, Good Partners established the Korea Lanka Hospitality and Hotel Management School (KLHHMS) in Partnership with the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM).
Korea Lanka Hospitality and Hotel Management School is directly funded by the Good Partners and managed by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Veteran hospitality educator and former head of SLITHM Prabodh Kulatunga is the Director General of KLHHMS.
KLHHMS provides professional training in the hospitality and hotel industry for Sri Lanka youth, especially the most vulnerable, so that it will lead to increase competitiveness in the employment market. KLHHMS work with major hotels in Sri Lanka to establish links and create employment opportunities for youth.
‘The ultimate goal of KLHHMS is to promote economic empowerment for marginalised youth in Sri Lanka. The school is grounded on the fundamental evidence that if young people have sufficient incomes and resources to sustain productive lives, they can generate an economic opportunity and contribute to the wider good and care for others’ said DG Prabodh Kulatunga.
The entire education with practical sessions and accommodation are free of charge for the students and the sector period is three months. After the successful completion of the three months courses, the students will be channelled to SLITHM for further education.
Director General Prabodh Kulatunga
Judy Nam
‘At the moment we are going on our fourth batch and we offer F&B and cookery programmes for students. Even though we offer almost everything free, except the small amount for registration, we find it is extremely difficult to get the full house of students for each sector’ said Mr. Kulatunga.
Korea Lanka Hospitality and Hotel Management School has the capacity for 80 students each on different tourism sector programmes.
‘KLHHMS provides international standard students accommodation facilities at the hotel school itself with more space for recreational activities.
We have eight acres of beach front land for expansion and development’ he said.
KLHHMS offers three months courses in Craft level in Hospitality and Hotel Management in F & B, Cookery, Housekeeping and Front Office. Industrial training too will be arranged at prestigious hotels.
For more details on new semester, call 0112942993 or email klhotelschool@gmail.com
Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
Instructor Rohan Patrick Tennakoon with his students
