Officials from the Haiti Ministry of Tourism visited the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) in early August to discuss how EI can assist the ministry with its goals for preparing a qualified workforce for its emerging hospitality industry. Maryse Noel, general director, and Daniel Denis, director of workforce development, met with Ed Kastli, EI's vice president, international sales, and other Orlando team members, prior to signing Global Academic Partner (GAP) agreements for two schools operated by the Ministry of Tourism : the Ecole Hôtelière d'Haiti in Port-au-Prince and the Institut de Formation Hôtelière Touristique (IFORHT) in Les Cayes.

According to Daniel Denis, Haiti is making a major effort to restore its tourism industry following the devastating 2010 earthquake and the Ministry of Tourism is working to develop training and education programs to meet international standards for hospitality. "We are at the very beginning. We want to develop one curriculum that will provide all students with uniform standards and competencies. That's why EI is a good partner for us; we will be able to quickly implement a curriculum that will prepare our workforce to deliver quality service."

He noted that there are 20 students in the pilot program for the hospitality schools, and by 2015, they hope to serve more than 200 students. He pointed out that in that same time frame, the number of hotel rooms in the country is expected to grow from 3,000 rooms to 5,000 rooms, with companies like Marriott and Best Western building properties in Haiti.

PI/ HaitiLibre