The Honourable Tourism Minister of Jamaica Edmund Bartlett is going to launch a tourism certification program for secondary students on 15th March 2018.
The joint initiative will provide certification from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) in their Hospitality and Tourism Management Program (HTMP) to students in grades 10, 11, 12 and 13. This tourism certification programme will help in fostering more tourism officials who are educated and updated with the modern infrastructure and knowledge that helps the country to boost the tourism and the travel & trade industry.
The Minister Edmund Bartlett made the announcement during a special welcome meeting for the newly appointed Director of Tourism, Mr. Donovan White, at the Jamaica Tourist Board’s New Kingston office on February 16, 2018.
The Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said that the certification program will close the loop in terms of our strategy to build the human capital and to create professionalism within the industry. The high school students can use this certification as the first step, before going to HEART or universities of their choice
He also shared that it would then be recommended for students to apply to the Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation (JCTI), an assessment institution driven by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), which offers AHLEI world-class training and certification over a three-month period.
The JCTI and high school certification program, forms part of the Ministry of Tourism’s Human Capital Development Plan and will make possible the certification of Jamaicans working in tourism, and better prepare them to serve the sector.
The pilot program in tourism education for the certification program for secondary students will begin this summer, when facilitators will be trained.
The official roll-out of the program in schools should begin in the Christmas term.
