Forty-three graduate from Lucea Skills Training Centre

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:

A total of 43 trainees graduated from the Lucea Skills Training Centre (LSTC) in Esher in Hanover last Thursday. Thirty-two of the graduates, who were from communities across Hanover, were trained in restaurant service, while the remaining 10 were trained in housekeeping.

According to coordinator of the LSTC, Joan Stephens-Thomas, the participants were also trained in English, mathematics, and conversational Spanish, and following completion of the programme, earned the National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica certification.

Stephens-Thomas said the training programme was also supported by Hanover-based all-inclusive hotels including the Grand Palladium, Couples Negril, RIU, Hedonism II, and Breezes Negril by allowing the trainees to undergo their practical internships at their properties since the inception of the institution.

"Since the inception of the Lucea Skills Training Centre, we have successfully trained and equipped more than 600 individuals from various communities in Hanover with skills. Our task at this training centre is to develop and expand the scope of our training. Our goals and objectives continue to play a critical role in moving our vital hospitality sector from strength to strength," she said.

The Lucea Skills Training Centre was established in collaboration with the HEART Trust National Training Agency in July 2007 in response to the demands of Hanover's growing hospitality sector.

The facility commenced operations offering training in the areas of housekeeping, waiting and bartending, and a compulsory course in conversational Spanish. It was the brainchild of Stephens-Thomas and a joint effort with the Global Villas Guest House in Lucea.

The establishment of the organisation, which started off as a community-based group, was also spurred by a backlog at the Kenilworth HEART Academy in Sandy Bay at the time, which resulted in potential students facing a three-year waiting period to be admitted.