Government to set up hotel, tourism training school in every province

GOVERNMENT has embarked on a deliberate programme to establish hotel and tourism training schools in all provinces across the country to ensure the sector is Heritage Based Education 5.0 compliant while producing the right human capital resource for the travel industry.

Through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science, Technology Development, Government already operates Orange Groove Hotel in Chinhoyi and Chinhoyi University, as well as St Patrick’s Hotel in Bulawayo.

Work is now underway to build a number of facilities countrywide in partnership with some development partners.
Speaking in Bulawayo recently, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, said tourism industry players must give back to schools that trained them. Tourism is one of the key contributors to the Gross Domestic Product together with mining and agriculture.

Prof Murwira, who was the guest at the recent inaugural Scholastic Tourism Conference during the Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo, said the education system must meet society’s needs and produce goods that are needed by the market.

“If we know that our tourism industry will grow based on the knowledge that we generate and the correct system of education we have, then we will have no confusion,” he said.

“Bringing higher and tertiary education to tourism is for people to realise that we should develop where we learnt so that the industry grows. Through the encouragement of the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality (Barbara Rwodzi) and her team, we are embarking on exciting journeys on tourism,” said Prof Murwira.

“We are trying to make the tourism and hospitality courses 5.0 compliant and we are introducing infrastructure to train a robust human capital.”

Prof Murwira said St Patrick’s Hotel in Bulawayo was being upgraded while some projects are underway in Matabeleland North, Manicaland, and Midlands. He said some universities and polytechnics were setting up tourism training schools.

The initiative is expected to create more jobs, enhance education and also address some issues raised by various communities over importation of labour by operators in the industry.

“Since the Second Republic came, we have reviewed all education policies to make them heritage based. In Bulawayo, we are refurbishing the school of hotel and tourism. St Patrick’s Hotel is a Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Hotel and through the encouragement of the Ministry of Tourism, we are now on a mission to revamp it and make it state-of-the-art,” said Prof Murwira.

“You can’t train soldiers using toy guns, so we must have a hotel for training in addition to hotels that are in the industry. The move should not be interpreted that the ministry is now competing with tourism industry. People should not burn bridges, what we are saying is that the tourism industry should come in with their in-practice people to our lectures because training is a national duty,” he added.

Prof Murwira said Education 5.0 is a liberating philosophy that builds national confidence brick by brick and players in the industry should enrol attaches to close the gap.

“We also now own Orange Groove Hotel in Chinhoyi for training so that our students are able to learn something. At Bingwa, 10km from Hwange, we are building a complex with eco-tourism innovation and industrial park and we are almost done,” he said.

“It’s being built by students in order for them to learn a lot of things. This facility shall support training, educational tours, game drives, walking safari and conference facilities in Matabeleland North.

“In Manicaland we are building a whole game park in Headlands, we have fenced it and we believe that it is important that we do so. We are building a conferencing facility and chalets in the middle of rural areas of Chirumanzu Holy Cross area,” said the minister.

“That’s the Education 5.0 we are talking about and we encourage people who are already mature in the industry to support this initiative and grow their businesses. We have an obligation to train people.”

He said training is a national duty and not sectoral hence the country is being built through the education system and with support from industry players.

“This is the essence of handshaking. Our systems have to handshake in order for us to build our country. We must adopt a system of training people and we are partnering with the Ministry of Tourism to make sure we deliver infrastructure,” said Prof Murwira.

“We have sports tourism where we are building a Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls. This is the essence of building a country.”