Career opportunities beckon for students

A group of Year 10 students visit the Marriott Beach
Resort as part of the Chamber of Commerce Careers
Awareness Programme.

Friday,  June 24, 2005

A group of high school students learnt more about career possibilities in the Cayman Islands from a selection of industries across Grand Cayman, Cayman’s tourism and hospitality industries, as part of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, (CICC) Careers Awareness Program, on Tuesday 21 June.

The Careers Day also included a visit to George Town Hospital; the law firm, Maples & Calder; Cayman Free Press; Pricewaterhouse Cooper; Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, and dms Broadcasting Ltd.

Students from St Ignatius High School, visiting Marriott Beach Resort, enjoyed the opportunity to view the back-of-house service areas, and the chance to listen to presentations from Marriott staff responsible for key operational areas.

Year 10 Student Christophe Dufour said: “We have visited the different parts of the hotel, such as cooking and cleaning. I am thinking about becoming a hotel manager.”

Jason Henry said: “I’d like to work ina hotel as a cook. I like cooking.”

Chris Sariego, Managing Director of the Marriott Beach Resort said his team recognised the importance of mentoring Cayman’s young adults towards a career in hospitality, travel and tourism.

“The Careers Awareness Program is a wonderful opportunity for the Marriott to help guide young Caymanians with their career aspirations as they embark on their future,” he said.

“With tourism and hospitality being such an important part of Cayman’s economy and one of the largest sources of employment in the Islands, our goal is to help young people explore firsthand the skills and education needed to succeed in today’s job market.

“The Marriott would like to encourage more young Caymanians to enter this exciting industry and hopes to attract young, enthusiastic people who aspire to have an interesting, people-focused career.”

After the tour, the students had lunch and participated in presentations by Chris Sariego; Vijay Dharman, Director of Food and Beverage; Carlos Bravo, Director of Engineering; and Ron Hargrave, Executive Chef.

“The tourism and hospitality industry is one of the best in the world offering the chance to work in almost any country, experience different cultures, fantastic travel opportunities and career-long employment prospects,” Mr Sariego said.

“In terms of competencies, candidates should have good interpersonal and communication skills, be motivated, good at working in a team and have an aptitude for customer service.”

“It’s about finding something you’re passionate about instead of just working for a paycheck,” he said.

Ana Casildo, Event Coordinator for the CICC said the Chamber was delighted that the Marriott was participating in the 2005 Career Awareness program.

“This program has been very successful in providing Cayman high school students with the opportunity to learn more about the many different careers available in the local employment market,” she said.

After visiting the Marriot, the students went on to visit dms Broadcasting.

Kole Porter, Director of Marketing at dms Broadcasting said: “They had a chance to see a next generation radio station. We wanted them to learn about radio opportunities.

We showed them round our four main sections, Sales, Programming, Business and promotions. It’s part of our mission here to invest in the community, and in the minds of young people here."

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