|
Saville Hotel gives young people a ‘real’ work experience
Darwin students get to do a one-week work placement in the hospitality industry thanks to a strong partnership between the Saville Park Suites and YouthWorX NT Local Community Partnership.
Students in certificate courses in tourism, hospitality and business have the opportunity to go on these placements as part of their Vocational Education and Training in Schools studies. Before being classed as ‘work ready’, students have to complete a certain amount of their course, get a senior first aid certificate and go through an occupational health and safety program.
Students usually do their placement in the final week of the school term or during the holidays. Trainers give students and their supervisors training plans or logs that explain the competencies the students need to gain during the placement.
The trainer or a member of the YouthWorX NT team visits the students and their employer during the work placement to talk about the students’ performance and progress. After the placement, the students, the employer and the visiting supervisor all complete evaluations on how it all went.
The Saville Hotel Group—with more than 1700 rooms/apartments nationwide—is so happy with the program that it wants to implement it in all of its 11 Australian hotels. The group is especially pleased to contribute to the career development of young people in the community.
Students gain a good understanding of the industry, real work experience and a clear idea of the kinds of careers they can follow in hotel work.