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By Bimbola Oyesola
To boost human capacity for youths in the hospitality industry in Nigeria, 22 Hospitality Limited is partnering the Federal Government to inaugurate a world-standard hospitality academy.
Speaking at the weekend in Lagos, the head of corporate affairs, 22 Hospitality Limited, Lawal Taofeek, said the step would also improve youth employment in the sector.
The company recently acquired a majority stake in Capital Hotel PLC, owners of Abuja Sheraton Hotel, in a landmark deal that the company stated was aimed at restoring the hotel to its past glory as the first choice hotel in Abuja.
The company said its recent acquisition was also a strategic drive targeted at making the hotel carve a niche for itself by becoming a leading hospitality firm offering premium services to customers in accordance with world standards.
According to Lawal, the proposed academy would also serve as an avenue to improve the skills of employees that would be reabsorbed following the shutdown of the hotel recently by Capital Hotel plc for its needed rehabilitation.
He stated that the new outfit with consent of the Federal Government would reduce unemployment and create new sets of highly skilled manpower that can compete favourably with others worldwide.
The company said enormous human and material resources would be invested in the academy to make it stand out as a world standard organisation with the principal aim of manpower development in the sector.
The corporate head noted that the initiative was borne out of bridging the global shortage of trained and experienced hospitality human resource following reliable statistics showing that there are currently more than one millions job vacancies in as housekeepers, waiters, chefs, security personnel, IT and maintenance personnel in the hospitality industry.
The company said products of the Academy could also seek international employment opportunities in view of the global dearth of professionals in
the industry .
“The Academy would provide an army of employable Nigerian youths who would soon become a game changer in manpower development in the industry, the feat would also assist government in tackling the unemployment challenge in the country,” Lawal expressed.
