Israel beckons youth for hospitality industry

HATHOON SHERIFFDEEN

The Israel Government has invited 1,000 Sri Lankan youth for a training programme in hospitality trade for one year with a salary of US$ 500 per month.

This facility will be arranged immediately by the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency, Chairman Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency, N. M. Shaheid said.

The industry pays from $500 to $600 per month as an entry level remuneration. The Middle Eastern employment market is a very important market for the hospitality industry to cater to, he said.

Aitken Spence Hotel Management Services Limited and the Win-Stone School of Culinary Art joined hands with the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management to train women to cater to the foreign market, Deputy Tourism Minister, Faizer Mustapha said.

"There is a great demand for women in the hospitality trade overseas. Last year $ 2.7 bn of Forex income was earned through migrant workers.

Records show that the Sri Lankan professional institutions in the hospitality trade have recorded five per cent of women out of the population trained by them, he said.

The main reason for this is the social recognition and the type of work, specially as the hours of work are different to other professions.

People should understand that though this profession is on a shift basis, hotels have the duty to take care of women with the time constraints and the transport of women safe at late hours, Mustapha said.