Gaeilge
Donegal ETB has launched a new Career Traineeship in Hospitality Operations. This exciting new training opportunity has been developed in partnership with many of the leading hotels in the county who will provide the work practice elements of this course. In South Donegal these include Harvey’s Point (Donegal Town), Solis Lough Eske Castle Hotel (Donegal Town), the Mill Park Hotel (Donegal Town), the Sandhouse Hotel and Marine Spa (Rossnowlagh), the Abbey Hotel (Donegal Town) and the Great Northern Hotel (Bundoran), while in the North and West Donegal these include the Waterfront Hotel (Dungloe), the Mount Errigal Hotel (Letterkenny), the Shandon Hotel (Portnablagh), the Silver Tassie Hotel (Letterkenny) and Arnolds Hotel (Dunfanaghy).
The launch took place at Letterkenny Institute of Technology’s Killybegs Campus as the first phase of the traineeship will be delivered in the excellent facilities offered by the School of Tourism, with many of the partner hotels in the South of the county in attendance. The traineeship will begin in North Donegal in the Autumn.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Martina Bromley, Head of Enterprise and Hospitality, Fáilte Ireland stated, ‘Donegal has been making huge strides in recent years, the Wild Atlantic Way is one of those key projects and of course Donegal ETB has been doing wonderful work.’
The traineeship covers a range of modules relevant to the industry including customer service, reception and frontline office skills, accommodation techniques, restaurant skills and food preparation. Additional modules will also cover reservations and revenue management, marketing and social media, food and beverage cost control, menu planning, food hygiene (HACCP) and barista training.
Speaking at the launch, Donegal ETB’s Area Training Manager Vinny McGroary said, ‘This career traineeship has been developed in close collaboration with the hospitality industry here in Donegal. Donegal ETB would like to thank them all for their support and we’re delighted to see such a great turn out for the launch here in LYIT’s Killybegs campus today.’
As one of the partner hotels in South Donegal attending yesterday’s launch, Harvey’s Point Owner/Manager Deirdre McGloin, stated, ‘It’s fantastic that the ETB are collaborating with the industry to create a very great programme.’
Work experience is a core component of the traineeship which includes sixteen weeks of practical work experience in many of the hotels who have collaborated on its development. Speaking about this ahead of the launch, Aisling Arnold, General Manager, Arnold’s Hotel, a North and West county partner said, ‘We are thrilled that there is a placement as this allows candidates an excellent opportunity to experience real life within the hospitality industry.’ The traineeship will also allow learners to progress directly into employment in the hospitality sector and will also facilitate entry, on a competitive basis, to a range of third level institutions nationwide, including LYIT’s Hospitality and Tourism courses in Killybegs.
Career Traineeships are co-funded by the Irish government and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020.
