Thames College celebrates 5th year of initiative in hospitality & tourism training

Wednesday, 22 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Thames College celebrated its fifth successful year of operations on 23 March in an environment that is constantly changing with the need for specialised courses of study in the Hospitality and Tourism industry. To mark the occasion, a charity event was organised at ‘Mith Sevana’, which is an orphanage for special needs children. Thames College students, lecturers, management and staff participated in the event. Thames College was the first institute to launch CTH – UK Postgraduate diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management in Sri Lanka. The first graduation held in 2013 was the first of its kind held by a private institute in Sri Lanka with nine top professionals in the industry receiving fellowship awards from CTH – UK through Thames College in appreciation of their contribution to the industry. Today, Thames has the distinction of having the key centre status from Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality – UK due to its uncompromised commitment to quality and delivery. It is also the largest centre in Sri Lanka for CTH qualifications.

Thames has taken the initiative in forming 13 Diploma and Advanced diploma including seven postgraduate diploma batches comprising of both local as well as foreign graduates as well. In addition to internationally recognised qualifications, Thames College has also provided employment opportunities for its students, who are presently serving the Hospitality and Tourism industry in Sri Lanka and in the global arena. The college’s programs are designed to ensure that the specialised competencies of hospitality management professionals meet the required criteria by focusing on the necessary skills for the continued success of its students. These thought leaders focus on designing and developing students’ competencies and leadership skills for the future. Evidence of this specialised training was when Aitken Spence Travels Senior Executive Amal Nishantha Jayasinghe and Maldivian Student Rafaa Rasheed received two full scholarships from Glyndwr University UK through CTH in lieu of obtaining best results globally. CEO/Head of Academics Sanju Dissanayake stated, “It is Thames’ primary mission to produce hospitality and tourism professionals of international repute who are academically sound and practically relevant to cater the needs of the growing hospitality and tourism industry worldwide. What better way to honour our fifth anniversary than by ensuring that our students are aptly prepared for the industry environment presently and in the years to come. We hope to broaden our efforts by engaging other related organisations and business partners as part of our employability initiative and are strategically assembling a program that will yield immediate and sustained results for many years to come.”