Hotel sector jobs for rural youth in UAE

Shirajiv Sirimane

Over 350 rural youth will be employed in the hotel sector in UAE by the end of the year after they receive training at the satellite Hotel School in Kandy, which is recognised by the International Labour Organization. (ILO).

Deputy Minister of Tourism Faiszer Musthapha said this opportunity was made possible when he met several officials and the private sector at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai.

Musthapha said there are over 75,000 employment opportunities in UAE in the leisure sector. “We have to utilise this,” he said.

Minister said that unskilled labor and housemaids to the Middle East do not yield high salaries. “They earn around US $ 200 and the hospitality industry job earnings are around US $ 500,” he said.

Deputy Minister who was voted as one of the most outstanding Young Personalities with Jaycees Junior Chamber of Commerce Award (JCI TOYP) for his political efforts said that this is an area that needs further consolidation. The youth in the hotel school are given training on the hospitality industry, which includes a crash course in English as well.

He said that students at the Hotels School could easily take up jobs such as kitchen helper, room boy and earn up to US $ 500 a month in the Middle East.

The Minister airing his views on the JCI TOYP award said this award is an endorsement for his politics and youth empowerment he is undertaking. “I have also launched a programme to train 1,000 youth in computer training,” he said.