HSBC to offer hospitality training to rural youth

HSBC Future First will partner with CARE International Sri Lanka, under the ‘Skills for Youth’ initiative, to implement a program to support the rural youth in completing a nationally-accepted training program at the Kawantissa Vocational Training Centre (KVTC) in Tissamaharama.

This collaborated program with multiple industrial partners will enable graduates to obtain employment in the hospitality industry.
The program, developed in partnership with Jetwing Hotels, will provide international level training to meet required industrial standards. While the training facility at Tissamaharama, supported by Diageo, includes a state-of-the-art training kitchen, training restaurants and model hotel rooms, the curriculum meets national vocational qualification (NVQ) standards and includes English language classes and a personal development program.
Jetwing, as part of their own Jetwing Youth Development Project, and Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts will support the project in Tissamaharama with expert input and job opportunities.
A spokesperson for CARE stated: “It is important to develop this kind of facility, especially in rural areas, so that youth have access to suitable training. And, as sourcing well-trained staff is a challenge for the industry, this type of program, which actively involves industry actors in the training and subsequent employment, is an ideal platform for youth interested in the sector.”
The program also targets a high percentage of female enrollment to counter the country’s under-representation of women in this sector, which is far below the global average of 66%.
HSBC Future First sponsorship ensures the sustainability of the program and continuous employment opportunities for the rural youth of the country.
An HSBC spokesperson said: “We are happy to collaborate with CARE International Sri Lanka to support this project through our flagship global education program Future First. We believe this program will help empower youth with better employment opportunities in the hospitality sector, which has seen a boost with many new developments in the country.”
HSBC’s Future First education program was launched in 2007 with the aim of tackling child poverty through education projects and has provided some of the world’s most marginalised and impoverished children and young people with access to education and life skills and a better future.