WILLEMSTAD – July 10, 2023 – Recently a total of 77 course participants received their certificates as part of the Hospitality Sector Training Program. They attended either the assistant chef, assistant bartender, assistant waiter, or housekeeping courses. These participants followed a crash course in which they received enough basic theoretical and practical knowledge to be able to enter the hospitality sector. There were in total 38 assistant chefs, 16 assistant bartenders, 13 assistant waiters and 10 people who received a housekeeping certificate. Furthermore, a group of 22 people from different organizations in the world of hospitality received their certificate for completing the mentoring program. These people are the ones responsible for guiding the course participants at their learning company. During a pleasant ceremony, the Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Ruisandro Cijntje handed the certificates to the participants.
The courses for assistant chef, assistant bartender, assistant waiter and housekeeping lasted for 12 weeks. After having completed the course, the participants will continue to work at a learning company in the hospitality sector for 5 months and they will receive a salary during that time. At the moment there are already 54 course participants who are working at a learning company. After completing the 5 months, the company can offer the participant(s) a work contract based on their performance. Furthermore, the participants successfully completed the Personal Empowerment training which was focused on the development of their interpersonal skills.
The Hospitality Sector Training Program is managed by the Ministry of Economic Development (MEO), and the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) oversees the execution of the program. The program is executed in close collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development, Labor and Wellbeing (SOAW), the Ministry of Education (OWCS), and private sector partners. In the past months several training sessions were conducted for tourist guides, receptionists, massage therapists, assistant chefs, assistant waiters, and assistant bartenders. Currently there are 90 people enrolled in a training course for housekeeping, assistant chefs, assistant waiters, and assistant bartenders and another course is pending to start soon to train a new group of tourist guides. There are more than 30 companies that are contributing to the project as learning companies, thereby offering the participants the opportunity to find a job in the hospitality sector. To register for the training program, visit www.curacaotouristboard.com/education/
CTB, MEO, SOAW and OWCS congratulate the course participants and wish them much success at their learning company.
