President Mohamed Nasheed has said that the Maldives need more trained people to develop its tourism industry and take the full benefit of the industry. The President made the statement, speaking at the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa this morning at the graduation ceremony of the Kuda Huraa Apprenticeship Class of 2009, this morning.
President Nasheed noted that the apprenticeship programme run by the Four Seasons Resorts was an important service for development of the Maldives tourism industry and thanked the Four Seasons Resort for continuing the programme. The President also invited the Four Seasons Resorts to join with the government of the Maldives in a public private partnership to further develop these programmes to coincide with the government’s education policies to train skilled workers.
Speaking on the importance of increasing the women’s share in the tourism industry, the President called on the resort operators to make a special effort to encourage more women to work in the industry.
Noting the increasing number of complaints from the employees in tourism industry about their working conditions and wage, President Nasheed said that these differences between the employers and employees arise because of the difference in the level of technical knowledge and education. He also stressed that education and training was the best medium through which these differences could be overcome as well as to get a better wage.
At today’s ceremony, President Nasheed presented certificates to 18 apprentices who graduated this year.
The Four Seasons Apprenticeship Programme began in 2001. The apprenticeship programme is a vocational training programme for young Maldivians who wish to enter the hotel industry.
