STA launches short courses |05 June 2023
One of the sessions in progress
The Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) has started its short courses which were launched on Saturday June 3, 2023.
The in-service training is done on Saturdays and it targets people who are interested in the tourism industry and its different departments.
There are currently 7 courses, namely Wellness and Spa conducted by Fadette Luc, Free-lance tour guiding by Merna Lajoie, Restaurant and bar by Samantha Rose, Food production and culinary arts by Mr Christophe Camille. There are also Hairdressing, Reception operations/services and Housekeeping. The courses are open to anybody from the age of 16 years onwards.
Lecturer at STA and overseer of the course, Velma Agricole, said that people with existing skills within these domains can also take part in the courses to improve and sharpen their skills.
“We invite more people to come as this is an opportunity to get the skills they need to pursue a different career path which they have an interest in but have no professional or educational background in those fields,” she said.
Merna Lajoie, a facilitator for the tourism and tour guiding course, said that the course is for those who want to follow tour guiding as a profession but do not have the baggage or the certificate to do so.
“As the programme leader for tourism and tour guiding in STA, I will advise those who are practicing this career without a license or certificate to come attend these courses to get your certificate as it will prevent difficult situations in the future from happening,” she said.
The tourism and tour guiding course will go on for 18 weeks, with 15 weeks of theory and practical learning and 3 weeks of first aid.
Neil Orphe, a participant in the course, said that he has been working with tourists for a while now and he decided to take up this course to make his job as a tour guide official.
“The reason why I took this course is that I want to do things by the book. The many complication and possible issues that can occur with a tourist under my care can lead to great repercussions due to me not having the proper baggage,” he said.
Diane Larame
