SKYE Suites Parramatta have collaborated with The Smith Family’s Work Inspiration Reach Out program as part of their community engagement commitment and welcomed a group of local Year 10 High School students.
The Smith Family Work Inspiration program connects local businesses with young Australians to support them to find out more about themselves, build their aspirations and engage with employers. It’s designed to inspire and spark students’ interest in their transition from school to the world of work through visits to a cross section of industries and workplaces.
The group of 25 students started their day with a welcome talk and a property tour by hotel General Manager, Irlanda Garcia.
A range of hands-on experiences and career discussions was planned by the hotel including housekeeping, front of house operations, conferencing and events and talks by different hotel team members, giving insight into how they started out and where their hospitality careers had taken them.
Time was spent discussing the recruitment process and tips on how to succeed along with education and training pathways in hospitality.
“It was such a fantastic way to support the students and highlight aspects of the hospitality industry including career insights with them. I’m passionate about hospitality along with the training and career advancement it offers. The day was a real revelation for many of the students and we hope to see them in the future working in this wonderful industry,” said Irlanda Garcia, Hotel General Manager.
At each department, hotel staff gave insight into their roles and encouraged the students to ask questions.
Director of Sales and Marketing for the group, Ari Foo gave an overview of where a career in hotels had taken him over his 25 years in the industry with examples of campaigns and partnerships with external partners he’d worked on, and how it opens opportunities to work internationally, adding that Australians are well regarded around the world.
Hotel General Manager, Irlanda explained the recruitment process, how to apply for positions and tips on how to succeed. She shared her firsthand experience on how hotels are a great opportunity to be trained across different departments exposing you to roles from which you may choose to build your career.
Students heard from Revenue Manager, May Toh who gave insight into her role and how she creates revenue strategies on pricing, inventory allocation and distribution channel management.
Lisa Russell Miller walked the students through conference and events, sharing how creative you can make this role and how they have worked closely with community organisations.
As part of a group activity, the students were put into teams and shown by housekeeping how to make up beds and prepare guest rooms. It was then handed over to them to make up beds with the bonus of competing against each other to win prizes which were awarded at the end of the session.
The day ended with a Q&A session where students were encouraged to share what they learnt and give feedback. Many commented that they were unaware of the range of career options hotels offered and how important teamwork is.
