Lack of quality training facilities keeps service levels below par

CEO Dilip De Silva and International Hotel Management Academy Chairperson Suwenitha Senanayake

International Hotel Management Academy (IHMA) takes the lead in taking bold steps to try to correct this situation. Joining hands together with the Freudenberg Shipping Company and their hospitality arm, a modern state-of-the-art facility is being set up to address this situation. Freudenberg present Chairperson – Leisure sector Suwenitha Senanayake has taken the much needed initiative in starting a degree program for hotel management with an Australian University. She, realising the huge potential for high quality workers in the tourism sector has created a course of study that is both good and affordable. To this end she has appointed veteran hotelier and trainer Dilip De Silva to head the operation. Counting over 50 years of experience has taken over the reins as Chief Executive Officer of the IHMA. De Silva is a hospitality industry veteran and former chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (SITHM) and UN/ILO expert who also worked for Charles Darwin University in Australia as the head of Tourism and Hospitality department from 1991 to 2001. With his contacts in the industry, De Silva has put together a faculty that is on par with the highest placed in the field with resource persons to deliver a Diploma in Hospitality Management that has international recognition. Former Aitken Spence CEO – Maldives sector Upul Peiris is appointed as the Director – Academic who will take the lead in all course coordination matters. 

Speaking with De Silva he said, “At a time when Sri Lankan youth are seeking education opportunities overseas, this venture IHMA helps relieve some of the financial pressure on students wanting to pursue a degree program in hospitality management in Australia by partnering with a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) which has entered into a partnership with The Hotel School Australia and Southern Cross University of Australia. This partnership allows our students to apply directly to enter year two of the three-year Degree in Hospitality Management program of The Hotel School at its Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane campuses. This is because IHMA’s 12-month Diploma is based on the year one syllabus of The Hotel School, Australia and the examination held in Colombo is subject to Quality Assurance by the Australian RTO.” 

Finally, Dilip said, “To enhance and deliver the highest possible quality, in-service training internships with many of the leading hotel chains in Sri Lanka have been arranged. With the increase in tourism worldwide, there is a massive requirement for high-quality workers in the industry here and abroad. As Sri Lankan youth are now well placed to take full advantage of this global opportunity increasingly seeking education and careers overseas. The global travel industry is forecasted to experience a boom in the next few years, therefore the time seems opportune to diversify into education in Hospitality Management.”