Foundation for the Future > Programmes > Youth Career Initiative

Youth Career Initiative
Career development in the hospitality industry for young people at risk
A programme of the International Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum

Introduction

The Youth Career Initiative (YCI) uses resources within the hotel industry to prepare young people in poor countries for careers in hospitality and other service sectors. The focus is high school graduates from impoverished communities, where young people have limited livelihood options and are most vulnerable to exploitation. The aim is to ensure participants’ long-term social and economic security by providing them with professional training and experience that enhances their earning potential, their self-esteem and their ability to make informed decisions about their lives. The programme began in Bangkok in 1995 with one hotel, nine high school graduates and two visionary leaders from UNICEF and the Pan Pacific Hotel Group. Now it is a unique global partnership of hotels, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Twenty-three hotels have joined the scheme in Bangkok and Manila and 550 graduates have gone on to work in hotels, banks and hospitals or are continuing their education. In Northern Thailand the programme has significantly reduced the numbers of young girls forced into prostitution. The initiative is cited by UNAIDS as a best practice for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and in 1999 the YCI was presented during the 7th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York. International tourism organisations are now working with the International Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) to implement the programme in South Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America, with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Background

Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts originated the scheme in Bangkok as the Youth Career Development Programme; a community initiative to “give something back” to society and demonstrate the company’s commitment to lifelong learning. Lyndall DeMarco, Pan Pacific’s Corporate Director of Education, and Dr Kitiya Phornsadja, Child Protection Officer for UNICEF Thailand, created the model. The programme began with eight girls and one boy from welfare schools in Northern Thailand who followed a 20-week course at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Bangkok. The hotel’s managers were the teachers. This not only ensured that students were trained directly by hospitality professionals, but also led hotel staff to take a personal interest in the progress of the trainees and the outcome of the programme. The scheme was so successful for both the students and the hotel that it was expanded to allow more young people and hotel companies to participate. In 1998 the scheme was implemented at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila, and by the end of 2002 a total of 23 hotel companies in Bangkok and Manila had become involved, training 150 participants per year.

Participants

Participants are high school graduates who are chosen for their desire to succeed and their potential to work in the service sector. Priority is given to applicants in difficult circumstances who would be at greatest risk without outside intervention. In Thailand, for example, teenage girls are considered to be the highest-risk group, and in Manila both girls and boys are chosen, usually from church-run shelters. In South Africa both boys and girls will be selected from high schools in poor townships.

Approach

Candidates are chosen while in their last year of secondary education. Application forms and information about the scheme are sent to schools, and two weeks later human resource personnel from participating hotels visit the schools to interview candidates. Those who are selected for the programme are trained over a 20-week period in technical areas such as housekeeping, laundry, engineering, kitchens, and food and beverage service. A typical day includes three hours of theory instruction and four hours of hands-on training in technical areas. Every week trainees receive three hours of instruction in basic English. Every two weeks trainees from participating hotels meet for joint sessions on life skills that include computer training, service etiquette and first aid. The Pan Pacific curriculum is the model for each hotel, but flexibility is built in to meet the requirements of different hotels. Training resources are shared. At the end of each training programme a graduation ceremony is held at one of the hotels, with all of the catering provided by the trainees. Graduates are awarded an official certificate with the logos of all participating hotels. The certificate is highly valued and has helped to motivate other children in participating schools to complete their education. UNICEF keeps track of all the graduates, and individual hotels track the graduates for which they have been responsible.

Partners and sponsors

A feature of the scheme is the combined support of companies, NGOs and government. All services are donated. In Thailand, for example, UNICEF arranges participants’ transport, accommodation, support and guidance, and UNICEF Canada sponsors accommodation for trainees in the local Girl Guide Association hostel. The Ministry of Education liaises with welfare schools and co-ordinates travel arrangements, and companies such as AIA and Colgate provide insurance and amenities for trainees. In 2000 Bumrungrad Hospital, one of Bangkok’s leading hospitals, recruited nine graduates from the Youth Career Initiative to train for careers in nursing, and the following year 20 nursing scholarships were offered to YCI graduates.

Support from the tourism industry

The International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) has officially endorsed the programme as industry best practice and is working with international agencies to expand the scheme worldwide. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has also declared its support. Both organisations regard the programme as an important tool in the fight against child exploitation and sex tourism. The IH&RA and WTO are working with the IBLF, an international charity that promotes responsible business practices, to implement the programme worldwide. Further support for lifelong learning is being developed through the IH&RA Foundation for the Future, a Swiss-registered charity convened by Trustees of the IH&RA. A proportion of the scholarships that the foundation awards every year will be allocated to YCI graduates for the purpose of distance learning in accredited university degree programmes.

Global expansion

The IBLF has publicly supported the YCI since 1999, and in 2002 assumed responsibility for the global expansion of the programme. Lyndall De Marco retired from Pan Pacific in 2001 and is now employed by the IBLF as Executive Director of the YCI worldwide. She is working with IHR&A, IBLF and WTO to expand the program to South Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. A Youth Career Council is also being established to set standards for the YCI programme worldwide. Dr Phornsajda continues as mentor for the programme. The YCI is adapted to the particular circumstances of each country in which it is implemented. In South Africa, for example, where the YCI will be launched in July 2003, the training programme will be 12 instead of five months long, in order to qualify for a national “learnership” scheme that provides allowances for trainees and awards tax deductions to participating hotels. The National Standards Framework has been incorporated into the curriculum, which means that South African YCI graduates will automatically qualify for, and earn one year of credit towards, a two-year diploma programme. The first of its kind in the country, the YCI programme will help in an indirect way to raise standards in South Africa’s hotel industry.

Summary

The YCI shows how a partnership approach and effective use of existing resources in the hospitality industry can dramatically benefit both companies and communities. From the beginning, the goal of the YCI programme was not only to provide a training scheme for the hospitality industry, but also to empower disadvantaged young people. Hotels benefit from reduced staff turnover and a growing pool of trainee graduates, and participants gain career opportunities to which they would not otherwise have access. This is a compelling example of ways in which hotels and tourism companies in poor countries can contribute significantly to good quality human resource development and poverty alleviation.