Huge interest in TY Tourism and Hospitality training programme

Over 350 Transition Year students sign up to new tourism and hospitality training programme ahead of summer season.

Fáilte Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation have developed a new tourism and hospitality skills training programme in partnership with LYIT. The programme is running as a pilot and aims to train and upskill local Transition Year (TY) students for part-time roles ahead of the summer season.

Speaking about the new TY Host Academy training programme, Joan Crawford, Wild Atlantic Way Manager at Fáilte Ireland, said: “We are really pleased that so many TY students have shown a huge interest in this programme. Labour supply has been identified as a challenge for the tourism and hospitality industry by the Donegal Destination Recovery Task Force. This new pilot programme may help alleviate some of the staffing shortages that businesses are facing.”

“Over 350 transition year students from secondary schools across the county have already signed up for the training programme. Many of those working in tourism and hospitality developed their passion for the industry while working in summer jobs. This course will not only prepare students for part-time seasonal roles but could provide an ideal stepping stone for them to consider a future career in the sector.”

Nicola Dunnion, Head of the Department of Tourism at LYIT, said: “We are delighted to be able to respond to the sector’s needs by developing this pilot taster training programme for Transition Year students in the county. The reaction from schools has been extremely positive so far, as they feel the programme is bringing meaningful value to students who quite likely at some point will look to obtain casual, part-time or hopefully full-time employment in the tourism and hospitality sector in the course of their life. This initiative is an innovative way to create an appetite amongst students to consider this as a career option going forward.”

The pilot programme is free for transition year students and will be delivered virtually by LYIT. It will run until schools break for summer to prepare students for any part-time seasonal roles as tourism and hospitality businesses re-open in line with Government guidelines.

Students will be trained across a number of areas such as service excellence, health and safety (including Fáilte Ireland’s COVID-19 Safety Charter), food handling and hygiene (including basic HAACP training), and the responsible service of alcohol.

Welcoming the initiative, Paul Diver, Chair of the Donegal Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), said: “Hotels have effectively lost a year recruiting staff and this initiative will go a long way in alleviating this problem. Many students that join hotel teams in Transition Year often remain working with those hotels for years in part-time roles and indeed many go on to choose a career in the industry.”

Main photo: Pictured at the launch of the TY Host Academy are (l-r): Nicola Dunnion, (LYIT), Christopher Hegarty (Abbey VS, TY Coordinator), Michael Leyden, (Deputy Principal, Abbey VS), Niall Coffey (IHF, Donegal Branch), Patrice Rooney (Abbey VS, TY Coordinator), Paul Diver (IHF, Donegal Branch), and Joan Crawford (Fáilte Ireland).

5 May 2021