By Nadia Arandjelovic

Jahdé Rabain never imagined she would have a career in the hospitality sector, but after the Bermuda Hospitality Institute (BHI) hosted a presentation at her school she was keen to learn more about the industry.

Miss Rabain was recently one of several young people who completed the BHI’s START programme.

Developed by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute, the Skills, Tasks and Results Training (START) initiative exposes young people to a wealth of career options available within hospitality.

It consists of a 180-hour curriculum that provides them with real-world knowledge and skills needed for long-term careers in the field.

Miss Rabain said she didn’t know much about the hospitality industry before signing up for the course, but saw it as an opportunity to learn more.

“I ended up loving it,” she said. “I’m currently studying to become a Project Manager. Although this career can be applied to many fields, hospitality seems to be the most exciting to me at the moment.”

She said the START programme got her closer to her professional goals by giving her the opportunity to work with the BHI. While there she managed some of its projects and gained first-hand knowledge on what will be expected from her as a project manager in the future.

One of the most rewarding parts of the programme was learning about the qualities that make a person hospitable and how one can put those into practice in their every day lives, she said.

“There are so many people that don’t understand how just saying “Good Morning” to someone can make a person’s day so much better,” she said. “It really is the small things that count.”

Miss Rabain said the only challenges she had to overcome were her fears of public speaking and answering questions on the spot.

But she said it felt great to push herself and admitted she was happy to get her certificate at a recent presentation at City Hall.

“I worked hard for it and I finally felt appreciated for my dedication and relieved at the same time,” she said.

“I think the biggest lesson I learned going through this programme was the importance of smiling. Whether you smile while you’re working or being interviewed or even just walking down the street; it makes a tremendous difference and it makes you portray a good impression as a person and as a Bermudian as well.”

David Dodwell, the Bermuda Tourism Authority Chairman, congratulated those who recently completed the START programme. He also praised them for their commitment to Bermuda’s hospitality industry and said that the sector “offered a diversity of career choices to students: from business administration to guest services and culinary arts to accounting and IT, to name a few”.

Bill Hanbury, the authority’s CEO, said the Island was “fortunate” to have this programme available to its students.

“The real-world experience gained provides our students with a solid foundation as they pursue further education in hospitality and related fields. This bodes well for the expected progress, growth and success of our tourism industry,” Mr Hanbury added.

Other local businesses, which have partnered to support the programme, include: Rosewood Tucker’s Point, Smatt Cycles, Fairmont Southampton, The Reefs, Rosedon, Frog & Onion, BHI, Bonefish Bar & Grill and Burrows Lightbourn Ltd.

Miss Rabain encouraged others to sign up for the START initiative and said they had nothing to lose.

“The teachers are great with helping you understand, you definitely will learn things that you didn’t know before that will be useful (such as which forks and spoons are used for different meals), and you gain a certification in the end that you can add to your resume.

“What more could you wish to gain from a free programme? Plus, Bermudians are needed in the hospitality field, so I encourage other young people to get involved!”

Graduates who received the designation of Certified Guest Services Professional are: Shannon Denham, Alexandria Francis, Aaron Furbert, Asha Hassell, Ashleigh-Jordan Lambert, Kyle McNeil, Jahde Rabain, Satyray Robinson, Rosheena Shamsid-Deen, Kasheema Smith, Lorendae Symonds and Traynario Wright.