Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA)-Students to follow management studies starting next year |25 August 2007

This was announced by the director of STA, Flavien Joubert, while he was addressing a large group of secondary school students at the launching of the academy’s first Open Day ever since the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) took over responsibility for the academy from the Ministry of Education.

Organized to coincide with this year’s Careers’ Week which took place last week, the Open Day was attended by representatives from STB, as well as agents from employment and training organizations in the country which were on hand to attract some of the students to their respective institutions.

Mr Joubert also revealed that students who perform well on an additional new four-year apprenticeship scheme that the school will be introducing as of next year will be accepted on the university programme.

Mr Joubert said that the two new syllabuses are part and parcel of adjustments that the school is engaged in at the moment “in order to capitalize on the vast amount of opportunities that presently exist in the tourism sector”.

He stressed that in the next five to six years, between 6,000 and 8,000 recruits will be needed to fill job openings being created solely in the tourism sector, and that in order to achieve this, the STA is revising its training manuals to offer better incentives to students seeking to make a career in the tourism industry.

“That is why we are working more closely with partners in the industry, to better train and accordingly attract the desirable number of recruits needed to meet demand,” he said.
 
He added that on the basis of the good understanding that exists between STA, STB and other stakeholders in the hospitality business, various tourist establishments in the country have agreed to as of next year allow their best employees to follow university level studies.

“This has already been guaranteed to STB, and will add on to the thirteen scholarships to Austria that STA will provide annually,” said Mr Joubert.

On account of other changes that the school’s curriculum will undergo next year, Mr Joubert said that the academy will continue to offer courses at City & Guilds and Competency Based Accreditation levels, in Restaurants and Bar, Kitchen and Pastry, Front Office and Reception and International Tourism and Tour Guiding, all for the duration of two years.

He noted nonetheless that students will be allowed to leave the courses after completing one year if they choose to, except for International Tourism and Tour Guiding, where the two years are compulsory.