Students from the Akilah Women’s Institute will be among the first to benefit from the opening of the Kigali Marriott Hotel next year, with free training in Marriott’s GCC hotels.
The first group of 14 graduates will begin their training in September, with small groups attending three of Marriott International’s top class hotels for nine months to a year, learning a range of skills that will prepare them for guaranteed jobs in the new Rwanda hotel.
Gary Dodds, VP HR Marriott International Middle East & Africa, said the company was keen to contribute to the community by playing a part in its human capital development.
“We not only wanted to source local staff for our first hotel in East Africa but also to implement our Spirit to Serve programme. Akilah Women’s Institute enables us to achieve that by connecting us with deserving students who are educated and eager to make a difference to their lives and their country’s future development,” said Mr Dodds.
The students’ training would include learning about the core values of Marriott, experiencing the company culture and undertaking essential supervisory skills so that when they return to Kigali pre-opening, they could help train their peers being hired for the hotel, he said.
Akilah Women’s Institute executive director, Lisa Martilotta, welcomed the company’s commitment to employing Rwandan locals.
“We’re thrilled with the opportunities the partnership represents for our graduates to extend their skills and achieve their potential in the world class context of Marriott’s first East Africa hotel.
I’m confident they will rise to the challenge and become an inspiration for other Rwandan students,” Ms Martilotta said.
Training will be at no cost to the students. New Century Development Ltd., owners of the Kigali Marriott Hotel, gained sponsorship for the students’ return air tickets courtesy of Rwanda Air’s chairman and each trainee will also get an allowance of AED 1000 per month, plus accommodation, meals and uniform.
A ‘mother’ figure will be appointed at each hotel hosting Akilah Women’s Institute students to support them in the transition into their new training roles and guide their development.
Students will also be able to keep in touch with each other through conference calls and social gatherings while they are away.
The training is just the start of an ongoing programme offering development opportunities to Rwandan nationals.
It’s anticipated a total of 250 local jobs will be created through the opening of the 254-room Kigali Marriott Hotel in 2013.
Marriott is the first international hotel company to go into Rwanda. It currently operates 3800 hotels globally, employing 160,000 employees.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA with more than 3,700 properties in 73 countries and territories and reported revenues of over $12 billion in fiscal year 2011.
