With the cessation of the decades old war and the expectation of the government to bring in around one million tourists to the island in the year ahead, the need for formerly educated, trained, quality hospitality service providers are acute than ever before.

Hence, the birth of 'RICH', Raffles Institute of Catering & Hotel Management, which opens its doors in May 2011 to aspiring students who seek a professional qualification for a rewarding career in the Hospitality trade.

RICH has been a dream come true for Mr. Tony Bohoran, the Managing Director of Raffles Consolidated. Mr. Bohoran, an industry professional himself with Degrees in Professional Cookery and Food & Beverage Management is a product of The Ceylon Hotel School and The Educational Institute affiliated to the University of Michigan.

The other Directors of the Board are Mr. Oscar Wanigasekera and Mr. Mohan De Silva with Mr. Nayanta Pandita as Director of Studies, who counts over 22 years of experience in the Hospitality Industry locally and overseas.

The Institute will conduct three Craft Level Modules and one Management level module which as per the market survey reveals have the highest demand. In order of priority they are as follows:

• Pastry & Bakery
• International Cookery
• Food & Beverage Service
• Diploma in Hotel & Catering Management

Each module will encompass theoretical as well as practical teaching and one semester would last 4 months with a minimum of one hundred hours of teaching input per each module. The institute plans to enrol two intakes per year and the initial projections are approximately 80 students per intake.
Industrial training:

Through the well established network of Hospitality partners of Raffles, the institute will source industrial training opportunities for the students in the leading five star and resort hotels in Sri Lanka. The IT session would last a minimum of 6 months giving the vital exposure required for the students to gain first hand training & working experience.

Job opportunities:

The trend of the hospitality industry is such that most students placed in the hotels for IT are eventually absorbed into the hotel cadre and provided gainful employment.

Other strategic alliances

Plans are afoot to form an alliance with NAITA the local vocational training institute and the craft level course certificate offered by RICH jointly with NAITA would provide the students with the unique opportunity of gaining maximum points when applying for migration to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The target market

Numerous requests from associates of Raffles to conduct structured training courses in catering and hospitality management prompted the Directors of Raffles to establish the Institute.
School leavers from International, Private and Government Schools in Colombo and its outskirts, along with young individuals already in the hospitality industry desiring a formal qualification to enhance their marketability, are expected to enrol.