The International Training Institute (ITI) and Loloata Island Resort have signed a five-year partnership that will provide students with practical workplace training and strengthen the country’s tourism and hospitality workforce.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between 20 and 25 tourism and hospitality students will begin eight-week internships at the resort from December after completing their examinations.
The agreement, signed last week at ITI’s Badili campus in Port Moresby, will also provide internship opportunities for students studying business, accounting, human resources, marketing and related disciplines.
Loloata Island Resort Human Resources Manager Alan Afu said the partnership was about preparing students for employment by giving them real industry experience.
“Today is about opening doors for ITI students to do their on-the-job training with us. It is about bridging the gap between the classroom and the dynamic world of hospitality,” Mr Afu said.
He said interns would receive daily transport to and from the resort, lunch, mentoring and practical guidance from experienced staff throughout their placements.
Students will be attached to departments that match their fields of study, including housekeeping, front office, food and beverage, finance, human resources, sales and marketing.
Mr Afu said the resort had already been impressed by ITI students who previously volunteered at the resort and hoped to recruit some interns into permanent positions after completing their training.
“Our General Manager was really impressed with how the students performed. He said they knew what to do,” he said.
ITI Chairman and Co-Founder Senthil Kumaran Sentheyval described the agreement as a major step towards producing job-ready graduates.
He said all of ITI’s diploma and degree programs now include compulsory internships, making partnerships with industry essential.
“Studying is one thing, but practical experience is equally important, especially in tourism and hospitality.”
“Students need to understand every aspect of hotel operations before they can effectively manage them,” Mr. Sentheyval said.
He said the partnership would give many students their first opportunity to work in a five-star resort and encouraged more young Papua New Guineans to pursue careers in the growing tourism and hospitality industry.
Mr. Sentheyval said ITI had also established internship partnerships with several other major hotel operators, including Crown Hotel, IHG Hotels and Resorts, which operates Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, and City Boutique Hotel.
Both organizations said the partnership would improve graduate employment opportunities while helping develop a skilled workforce to support the long-term growth of Papua New Guinea’s tourism industry.