Female Students At Vocational Training Centers Came Top At The International Hospitality Forum Competitions

Amman, November 2007. Supported by the USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project (Siyaha), four Tourism and Hospitality Unit Vocational Training Centers (VTC) from around Jordan took part in the 7th International Hospitality Forum (IHF), which was held at Amman Exhibitions Park from 30 October to 1 November. The participation of the VTC highlighted the quality of hospitality training available through its Tourism and Hospitality Unit centers, which total 11 centers across the country. The centers that participated were the Madaba, Salt, Petra and Aqaba centers.

Seven students from the Madaba VTC competed in an exciting bed-making competition that had skill, speed and accuracy at the core of the judging criteria. These students had fully completed the year-long Certificate in Hospitality Skills program, which was upgraded by USAID/Siyaha and developed to include six months of industry training. Suzan Masandeh came first, followed by Khamees Abu Joudeh and by Iyad al Atrash in third place. Jury member Mr. Eyad Hamdan, Executive HR Manager at Le Royal hotel, was impressed with the students’ skills. “They did very well compared to professional competitors. Some participants who have 10 years’ experience get confused and nervous at these competitions. But these students are calm and collected. Quality is more important than speed; speed comes with experience,” he said.

At the same time, twelve VTC students from the centers in Salt, Petra and Aqaba took part in a salad making competition at IHF. Provided with the ingredients and tools needed for preparing a Greek salad, three teams of four students each, competed to produce the best salad, which was evaluated by IHF international jury members. The evaluation criteria were based on taste, technique, presentation and other important factors. Muna Al Nasrat from Petra clinched the top prize, followed by Mohammad Al Smeirat of Salt and by Arige Abu Aisheh of Aqaba.

‘The new curriculum for Hospitality Skills Level 1 now offered to over 600 students by the VTC has proven that young Jordanians can adapt to new professions such as tourism very quickly,” said Dr. Joseph Ruddy, Component Leader, USAID/Siyaha. He added, “I felt so proud to see these young ladies and gentlemen displaying their skills and competency by competing at an international competition. This event is a wonderful motivation for young people and these VTC students who will soon become the industry professionals of tomorrow are already talking about improving their skills in service in preparation for the next competition.”

“It was wonderful to see eight female students from VTC centers in Salt, Madaba, Petra and Aqaba take part in IHF’s activities and even more so to see that the top winners in the bed-making and salad-making categories were young women,” said Samar Shawareb, Managing Director of Events UnLimited the co-organizers of IHF. “I hope that this will encourage more female students to join VTC centers and other educational institutions offering hospitality and tourism education as job opportunities in this industry are widely available”, added Shawareb.

The VTC Tourism and Hospitality centers were revamped last year, with support from USAID/Siyaha, in order to enhance the quality of hospitality education available in Jordan. A new hospitality skills program was introduced, with six months of theoretical training at the centers followed by six months of practical training in industry.

The VTC participated at IHF 2007 to demonstrate to the hospitality industry the quality of education available at the VTC centers and the skill level of students and teachers. Also, the VTC considers it vital to be part of this important industry event to attract potential students and enable existing ones to gain a better understanding of the industry, as well as discovering the options that are open to them.

USAID/Siyaha is supporting the VTC to gain greater exposure to the tourism sector and solidify its role as a reliable source of qualified labor for the hospitality industry. “USAID/Siyaha is acting as a catalyst to strengthen the availability of human resources within the tourism sector in order to support meeting the goals of the National Tourism Strategy by 2010,” said Mr. Eric Johnson, USAID Private Enterprise Officer.

The International Hospitality Forum (IHF) is Jordan’s premier event for the hospitality and foodservice sector. The 3-day event featured a wide selection of products & services for the hospitality and foodservice sector, in addition to, various industry competitions including culinary art competitions, table settings, bed-making and others. IHF 2007 was organized by Events UnLimited and Hospitality Services.




 

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