Head of Operations of CTH UK visits Sri Lanka

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Thames College, the key centre in Sri Lanka offering Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH-UK) ‘gold standard’ professional qualifications in Tourism and Hospitality education, was graced by the recent visit of The Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality UK Head of Operations and Compliance Sue Graham. Her most important duty on this special visit was to award Thames College the privilege of being the key centre in Sri Lanka for the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH-UK) and to ascertain a more in depth perspective into the current opportunities open to students for Tourism and Hospitality.

She affirmed that the CTH qualifications are widely recognised by universities as offering equivalency to degree level study. Level 4 Diploma and Level 5 Diploma graduates could gain direct entry to the second or final year of a variety of hospitality and tourism degree programs. Similarly, Level 7 Diploma graduates may enter the final stage of Masters Degree programs. CTH ensures its quality through its approved status with Ofqual and the QCA’s UK accredited qualification framework. All qualifications are developed in conjunction with the industry experts to ensure relevance, value and quality. This approach guarantees that CTH qualifications are valued by employers throughout the world. CTH is keen to help equip Sri Lankan people with the skills to be the managers and leaders of hotels in their own country, so that they could benefit from local opportunities. It is important they have the necessary leadership and management qualifications to fit the new and exciting roles created in new international hotel chains like the Shangri-La, Hyatt Regency, Marriott and many more to come. Since, Asia including Sri Lanka is experiencing a massive upsurge in tourism and leisure, and as it grows, this sector is becoming increasingly diverse as tourists develop new expectations and experiences. While tourism confers undoubted benefits, not least in terms of happiness and health, it also raises questions about sustainability; such is the size of this sector. Today’s professionals need to combine a sense of entrepreneurship with an awareness of their social and environmental responsibilities, as well as an ability to appreciate cultures other than their own. Commenting on her insight gained, Graham stated, “This is one of the largest and most dynamic sectors of the modern economy providing not only jobs but a myriad of other opportunities. In order to prosper in this fast moving job market, our students need to be practically grounded and to be able to work effectively; they also need to be flexible and creative, and to have the ability to think critically and to reflect on how they relate to their colleagues and customers. I think it is a critical time for Sri Lanka at present in terms of investing in its own people for the future, and a massive opportunity will be missed if students do not get the appropriate and necessary qualifications, which CTH can provide.” Employability is central to our program and to equip our students to meet the challenges of industry we need to provide them with appropriate practical lessons and to enhance their understanding through experiential learning. In order to support these aims we need also to examine and recreate the knowledge base that informs our teaching and thus research is increasingly becoming essential to our program. CTH aims to become the leading international centre for the study of tourism, events and hospitality management in Sri Lanka and it is our mission to cultivate those professionals who will become the next generation of leaders. As the Head of Operations at CTH, she concluded, “It gives me great honour to wish our graduates every success in their future careers.”