Hospitality management and training company, Asia World Hospitality, pushes for development of the Philippines’s hospitality education in a bid to be at par with global standards.
At the recent 35th ASEAN Tourism Forum, the 10-member countries agreed to promote the region as a single tourism destination to drive economic growth.
“The ASEAN integration and the switch to K to 12 are certainly great steps ahead for the Philippines but these are also the challenge,” reveals Asia World Hospitality Managing Director Margarita Borja.
In order to level off with our Asian neighbors, Borja says, “What should be done is an upgrade of the current curricula, as well as the continuous development of the teachers and utilization of the top quality programs available in the market.”
Asia World Hospitality, the official representative of American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) in the country, offers a range of international certifications for academic and professionals in the hospitality industry.
The combination of Asia World and AHLEI allows students in the Philippines to gain an international diploma “which may serve as their key in obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the United States.”
“The workshops being offered at the moment are Certified Guest Service Professional (CGSP), Certified Sales Professional, Certified Lodging Security Officer, Certified Hospitality Supervisor, and START (Skills, Tasks and Results Training) Program,” Borja told Manila Standard.
According to Borja, the aforementioned certifications cater to a wide range of hospitality workers—from general manager level down to the front line employees. “It’s either in a self study or a workshop setting with local and international trainers,” says the Asia World Hospitality official.
Hospitality educators, meanwhile, may gain knowledge to keep up with global standards through Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) workshops.
“CHE is the only professional development opportunity for secondary hospitality educators around the world,” explains Borja.
The program equips faculty members of the hospitality field with tools to achieve their goals, as well as modern day practices and advanced instructional methodologies. Borja further avers that CHE can help increase the graduation rates, while simultaneously producing skilled, real world-ready professionals for the hotel and lodging industry.
CHE workshops are not limited to educators but are also applicable to human resource managers and training managers.
The first series of CHE workshops in the Philippines was held in May and June and was participated in by 57 delegates from seven schools and one participant each from City of Dreams Manila and Seda Hotel Bonifacio Global City.
The series of workshops was conducted by Fr. Robert Steele, a senior lecturer at AUT University, School of Hospitality and Tourism in Auckland, New Zealand.
“I am convinced that after the completion of the CHE, they will be able to bring more value to their schools and students. I wish that the hospitality and tourism education in the Philippines will continue to flourish, and this is certainly an important step which should be replicated across the country,” said Fr. Steele during his stay in the country.
Asia World continues to foster the upgrade of the country’s hospitality industry as it hosted CGSP for local trainers in September and October; CGSP for international trainers is happening in November, two more series of CHE are slated in October and November, and Certified Hospitality Revenue Manager also in November.
Call (02) 556-7994 or visit asiaworldhospitality.com for more information on Asia World Hospitality and the AHLEI programs it offers.