Two dozen Caribbean nationals have been awarded scholarships designed to accelerate the trajectory of their hospitality careers. They were selected from among more than 150 applicants.
The opportunity is being provided through the recently announced professional development programme for Caribbean hospitality professionals, launched by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation (CHTAEF) and Les Roches, the hospitality management institution.
Applications were submitted over the summer.
Eleven candidates received a joint scholarship, which covers more than 75 per cent of the programme cost, and Les Roches offered a 50 per cent bursary to an additional 13 candidates whose qualifications and potential could not be overlooked by the evaluation committee.
Candidates were selected from across the Caribbean and include hospitality professionals from both independent hotels and globally recognised branded hotels.
Scholarship recipients hail from Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Turks & Caicos.
“The support of CHTA member hoteliers, who have encouraged their staff to apply to this executive postgraduate online programme, demonstrates a strong commitment to quality tourism and excellence in the region,” said Carlos Diez de la Lastra Buigues, Managing Director of Les Roches Marbella.
Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas and St Lucia’s Ladera Resort and Bay Gardens Resorts will add to the roster of scholars by supporting additional candidates for the programme in the future, while Sandals Foundation has committed a US$10,000 donation toward the overall sustainability of the programme, supporting some of the most deserving candidates across the region’s hospitality sector.
Karolin Troubetzkoy, Chair of CHTAEF, said the Foundation was delighted to live up to its mission to improve and elevate the quality of tourism professionals through education and training. “We need to make serious investments in the future leaders of our region, while ensuring that the Caribbean is known as a centre of excellence in one of the largest industries in the world. And we are off to a great start with Les Roches and our region’s finest hotels and resorts,” she stated.
