Over forty employees mainly in the tourism industry were presented with certificates following their completion of various human resource development courses held in Anguilla. The awards ceremony took place at the conference room of the Anguilla Tourist Board on Tuesday, July 5.

Tourism employees and others at Awards Ceremony

The island’s Minister of Finance, Tourism and Economic Development, Victor Banks, told the awardees that their training was part of ongoing efforts to make Anguilla a proud tourist destination which has high quality service for customers.

Mr. Banks went on: “It is important that we all focus on improving our skills in whatever field of endeavour we undertake. This event is a demonstration of Government’s commitment to assisting the people of Anguilla in taking advantage of the prosperity that we have been enjoying for a number of years. The goals and aspirations of the people of Anguilla must be realised in the development that the Government is providing for them. This event should mark a very important day in your lives because it demonstrates that you have received something in terms of improving your skills to deliver the quality services that we expect from our tourist industry in Anguilla.”

The Minister said he was pleased to have attended the Caribbean Hotel Conference in Miami last week where not only some of Anguilla’s tourism sector employees did extremely well, but also where an Anguillian hotelier, Mr. Eustace Guishard, received the Caribbean Hotelier of the Year Award. One of the things Mr. Guishard said in his comments was that his achievement had nothing to do with him alone, but with the people who worked with him and assisted in creating the kind of facility which makes Anguilla proud. To quote Minister Banks, “It was a very proud day for Anguillians as Mr. Eustace Guishard, members of the culinary team and other persons from various hotels on the island did their best to represent Anguilla.”

Mr. Banks added that the Anguilla Government had committed itself to providing scholarship support in the areas of building and hotel trades to involve Anguillians in the development of the island. He also gave recognition to the training programmes being conducted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, John Benjamin, told the employees that in order for them to succeed in their work they had to provide the best service they could. He reminded them that they were not only competing among themselves in Anguilla but with the whole world. “Anguilla is part of the global market and we have to provide the necessary skills and expertise to compete with the world at large,” he stated. “Three of our properties are in the top ten small hotels of the world. We have to keep that there and ensure that we have at least five out of the ten in that category. We have the skills and the ability. Let us do it. I feel proud that we, as a Caribbean people, as Anguillians, can make each other proud.”

L-R: John Benjamin, Marcel Fahie, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch, Victor Banks, CM Fleming and Mimi Gratton

Director of Tourism said her department and the Government had always maintained that the island’s most vital resource was its people. In keeping with this position a number of key human resource initiatives were being delivered over the years.

She reported that in 2003 representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, the Anguilla Tourist Board, the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and the Chamber of Commerce, met with officials of the Caribbean Regional Human Resource Development for Economic Competitiveness, a project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. The meeting was aimed at establishing a national training programme focusing on tourism awareness, plan maintenance, supervisory skills, taxi-driver and tour guide certification, institutional strengthening and website marketing.

“We were not able to realise the full programme due to the expiration of the project, but assistance was received for a number of initiatives including two training workshops,” the Director of Tourism said. “The workshops were delivered in April and May of 2004 and February 2005. The areas covered were culinary arts, with emphasis on developing Caribbean cuisine, and a focus on intermediate food preparation and presentation; intermediate Caribbean cakes, pastries and desserts.

“In those courses there were 21 participants. The lead instructor was Chef William Moore, founder of the Taste of the Caribbean Competition who is now in Anguilla working at Cap Juluca Hotel. He said the goal was to offer cooks, who may not have had the benefit of formal instruction, an opportunity to fine tune their skills and knowledge and to learn to make the best use of the extensive range of Caribbean produce and commodities. The course facilitators were chefs Morris Brooks and Dean Samuels.

“The second course was plant maintenance and energy conservation and there were 18 participants. This workshop was facilitated by a consultant, Adolphus Small, of St. Lucia and it targeted engineering and maintenance personnel and dealt with major energy consuming areas usually found in a small hotel.”

Mrs Vanterpool-Kubisch added that the other training programme was website development for some of the small properties and another course would be conducted in this area in the coming months.

Executive Director of the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association, Mimi Gratton, spoke about the work of the Caribbean Hotel Association from which assistance had been received for a number of training courses in the hospitality industry. She said that this year her association had been able to offer “A Power Within” workshop which was held on the island from April 12 - 14 and attended by more than 80 participants.

“To know and understand that we have the power of choice over our attitudes and responsibilities is the most powerful statement we can make,” she emphasised. “I think we definitely achieved our goal… and Anguilla now has many individuals who possess the necessary skills to motivate others to the highest level of service.”

The awards were presented by Merlyn Rogers, Marketing Director, and Gina Brooks-Hodge, Deputy Director, Product Development and Human Resources, both of the Anguilla Tourist Board.

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