SLHTA Tourism Enhancement Fund is committed to Human Resource Development in Saint Lucia

The St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association as part of its mandate to further Human Resource Development in the tourism industry hosted an eight week wine training course for twenty-one beverage professionals from member hotels and restaurants.

The course facilitated by Jasper Kok, Executive Assistant Manager for Food & Beverage at Cap Maison Resort & Spa, provided attendees with an intensive eight week course titled Foundations of Wines of the World. On Wednesday January 27th, the participants received their certificates at a ceremony held in the SLHTA’s Hospitality Training Centre at Rodney Heights, Gros Islet.

This course, the second of three levels, provided an approachable insight into international wines, grapevines, wine Regions, wine cultivation, wine making, wine styles, reading the label, professional serving standards and basics on food and wine pairing.

This course and the many like it to follow will provide industry workers the opportunity to become more skilled in their chosen profession while advancing the quality of service offered to visitors to the island.

The SLHTA and the Tourism Enhancement Fund has committed much funding towards Human Resource Development with the understanding that it is critical to productivity, competitiveness and creating positive and empowering work cultures. Chief Executive Officer, Noorani Azeez, in his comments to participants emphasized that, “We need to maximize the returns of tourism for each one of us by taking advantage of new opportunities that the growing tourism industry provides. However these opportunities can only be realized through the advancement of knowledge.

SLHTA members La Cantina Wines, Peter & Co. Ltd, St Lucia Distillers Ltd., and Bel Voir Estates contributed over 60 wines towards the training program, allowing participants to experience a wide variety of flavors.