Professional training to more than 200 disadvantaged young people in the Dominican Republic is being introduced by the Tui Care Foundation.
The initiative is designed to help the island’s tourism sector recover from the pandemic at a time when trained personnel are urgently needed, despite 16% of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 not attending school or having a job.
A Tui academy in the Dominican Republic, one of six running worldwide, is running virtual reality learning, despite hotel closures.
A combination of vocational and life skills training equips students for a career in the tourism sector, with a focus on young women, including mothers helped by child day care funding.
Courses cover English lessons, leadership skills, sustainability, gender equality and reproductive health.
Students also learn how to manage their personal finances and how to build up their self-confidence and create a life plan.
Training and lessons are complemented by internships at international hotels.
Successful students receive a Tui Academy certificate, with qualifies them to work in the tourism sector.
The network of hotels will be expanded so that more internships and contracts can be offered. An alumni network of students has been established to help select and guide new students.
Tui Care Foundation executive director Alexander Panczuk said: “The Tui Academy Dominican Republic is a flagship project of the Tui Care Foundation’s international education strategy.
“We strongly believe in the transformative power of tourism to benefit local communities and promote economic development. The key to development is education and therefore we’re creating training opportunities for young people in the tourism sector.”