(TAN): Marriott International Maldives, the country’s Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment, and Maldives Institute of Technology (MIT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch the Marriott International Maldives Apprenticeship Programme for Maldivian youth in the tourism industry.
The partnership aims to build the skills of young people and prepare them for the job market through apprenticeship programmes that will provide an opportunity for the youth to gain work experience in the country’s tourism industry, according to a news release by Visit Maldives.
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Marriott International is the first international hospitality brand to collaborate with the government apprenticeship programme. The purpose of the programme is to train young people, especially the marginalised youth, in various skills to allow them to become job-ready and productive members of society.
Under the Marriott Apprenticeship Programme, MIT will provide the theoretical part of the programme, while the participants will receive work experience at Marriott International resorts in the Maldives. The first round of the programme will accommodate 50 people and will begin in late April or early May and participants will receive a level-3 certificate upon completion of the programme, which will adhere to the Maldives National Skills Development Authority (MNSDA) national competency standards.
Marriott International will offer youth training opportunities at their portfolio of seven resorts in the Maldives. They include The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort, JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa, W Maldives, Le Meridien Maldives Resort & Spa, Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa and The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort. A total of 250 opportunities will be provided for youth in nine different fields for five years under the agreement.
Emma Jones, area director of human resources, Marriott International – Singapore, Malaysia, Maldives, expressed her delight at the partnership with the Maldives government. “We are both honored and thrilled to embark on these new partnerships which will greatly assist in one of our key talent strategies, which is to hire and train local Maldivians. This National Apprenticeship Programme, which we are adopting and tailoring as our Marriott Apprenticeship Programme, will assist our resorts to secure talent from a young age, to home grow, nurture, train and develop them to be our future leaders,” she said.
