Vatel Bahrain to double capacity
Manama, Apr. 18 (BNA): Vatel Bahrain will double its admission capacity to provide the local tourism scene with more highly skilled national workforce, Director General Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa announced.
The tourism and hospitality management school aims to contribute to supporting the growth of local tourism projects and increasing the rate of Bahrainisation in the sector, he told BNA.
Vatel Bahrain, established in 2018 , is part of a global network of 55 hospitality management schools located in 33 countries in Europe, in the Americas, Asia and Africa.
The specialised educational institution opened in France in 1981. It is the top French hospitality school in France, and 11 globally according to QS rankings.
Vatel Bahrain has just enhanced its programme to be more aligned with the French programme.
Shaikh Khalid said Vatel Bahrain is working with Vatel France to further upgrade its programmes and offer more options to meet the requirements of the labour market. Some of the new programmes will cater to the needs of employers to provide training for their staff without full time commitment. A master's degree in international hotel management will also be unrolled in two years.
Gulf students will be soon welcomed at Vatel Bahrain, and talks are underway to offer the Vatel programme in one of the universities in the Gulf , he added.
The success of the Bahrain branch of Vatel is attributed to the support of the Tourism Ministry and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, Shaikh Khalid said.
A solid example of the success of Vatel Bahrain, was that 48% of the graduates in the first two batches secured jobs before even completing their studies, he said, adding that the overall employment rate currently stood at 55%.
Shaikh Khalid said that the hospitality and tourism sector provides promising opportunities for career development and expanding to regional and international markets.
Locally, the sector continues to grow and will need manpower to support this growth, he explained.
Shaikh Khalid said that studying hospitality gives students a wide array of specialties. Those include food and beverages, health spas, reservations, front desk, room service, finance and purchasing, events and human resources. The college also covers tourism and cultural aspects.
The bachelor's degree programme is only 50% theory and the rest is practical applications.
Students are trained by professionals in 4 and 5 star hotels in Bahrain and France, Shaikh Khalid said, adding that work is ongoing to increase the number of countries covered by the programme.
Vatel Bahrain also offers an exchange programme, Marco Polo, which allows students to complete their second year in other branches in the network.
Graduates from Vatel Bahrain are working in leading hotels such as Gulf Hotel, Ritz Carlton, Regency Intercontinental and others, Shaikh Khalid said.
"Some are working in the Bahrain International Circuit, and others started their own restaurant management company" he said. "Two of our graduates are working in a prestigious golf club in France, and we have a graduate in Abu Dhabi."
The college cooperates with hotels inside and outside Bahrain for training and job opportunities. It also has cooperation with the Royal Golf Club, Exhibition World Bahrain and organisers of international events such as Formula 1 races and the Bahrain International Air Show.
Shaikh Khalid said that Gulf Hotel was one of the main supporters of the college.