BASSETERRE ST. KITTS (September 29, 2009) -- For a country whose economy relies heavily on the hospitality industry, corporate support for the recently launched Youth Empowerment through Skills (YES) programme is an indicator that key players in the industry want the best for the country.
When Michael Guishard, a veteran of the hospitality industry, offered to train a group of young people recruited through the YES Programme he approached his former employer, the Royal St. Kitts Hotel and Casino, who readily accepted to host the 21 students for the entire four months hands-on training.
“This is a boon to the hospitality industry and country stands to gain immensely when we have properly trained personnel in the industry,” said Guishard in an interview conducted last Friday on the hotel’s premises where the students are learning the trade. “The students themselves are eager to learn as much as they can from me.”
One of the students, 24-year-old Natalie Norford from Saddlers, said that before the YES Programme was launched by Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas, early this year, she was at home doing ‘my own little thing’. Asked to elaborate, she said that she used to comb and braid hair, which was not occupying her as she would have wished.
“I joined the YES Programme to learn other skills,” said Norford. “Tourism is taking over now, so that is why I chose hospitality course. I am coming out good, as you can see I know how to set the table. After I finish this course, I am willing to take a job in the hospitality field.
“Yes, I believe I will have gained enough experience for me to get a job anywhere in the hospitality field. This (YES Programme) is a very interesting programme, and no one should say that it is a waste of government money as it is helping young people to learn a skill.”
Cheviour Lake, also 24, from Green Tree Project in Old Road said that she had a stint in the industry at the St. Kitts Marriott Hotel, but left in December. Before she signed up for the YES Programme, she was at home pondering on what to do with herself, and with the opportunity offered by the YES Programme, she chose the hospitality industry.
“I am gaining a lot from this training,” said Lake. “From here I am going to get a job and see if I can gain more experience, and in the future I am planning to get my own business and follow the same pattern that I am learning here. Something like a restaurant even though I have not decided where it will be located.”
Their instructor, Michael Guishard, has been in the hospitality industry all his working life. He started at the same hotel, when it was called the Jack Tar, as a gardener. Not wanting to remain at the bottom of the industry’s ladder he worked hard and promoted himself to be a waiter.
“I was then a waiter for 2 ½ years and then I went to Antigua to do some course into food and beverage,” recalled Guishard. “When I came back, I worked at the hotel for three years as an assistant bar tender, where I motivated myself to be the bar assistant manager in future. I did that for five years.”
He then joined the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) for a short stint, before switching to the Fort Thomas Hotel where he worked as a manager of the dining room for six years. After it was destroyed by a hurricane, he moved to the Four Seasons in Nevis, where he underwent extensive training in food beverage, banquets, cocktail parties and bartending.
“I was at the Four Seasons for 2 ½ years and then I came back home because of family problems,” observed Guishard. “I then went to the Marriott where I was the manager of one of their restaurants. I also did some extensive training and I got all the staff there together.
“It has been a very delightful venue and a career for me to work in the food and beverage business, meeting new people daily from different walks of life and I think that I would keep that trend of mind to motivate younger people around the community.”
Guishard praised Prime Minister Douglas for his foresight in assisting the country’s youth to gain skills which they could use to be gainfully employed or even start their own businesses as the informal sector in St. Kitts is still in its infancy stages. He is happy with the progress of his students.
“We are training them to go out in the field to be bar tenders and waiters and waitresses,” commented Guishard. “They have skills in food and beverage, and they have a lot of know how about conferences and cocktail parties that I have taught them. So they have a wide range of skills to live with.”
