“It is envisaged that the academy, will provide the focus and priority needed for the industry to significantly raise skills standards and ensure the industry attracts, retains and develops a high quality workforce,” says Ivan Bonner, the group's CEO.
The academy, in partnership with the Swiss Hotel School in Ferndale and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, and supported by The Presidency under the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA), provides a one year THETA (Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training Authority) accredited certificate.
The learners focus on professional cookery to learn the skills necessary to work in a fully operational hospitality service facility. The year-long course is followed by an Advanced Phase. The entire program consists of 70% practical work and 30% theory.
The company guarantees full-time employment to graduated students. In addition, the top achieving learners will have the opportunity to work internationally, within the Compass Group, which operates in 64 countries around the world.
Academy students are selected from the Department of Labour database, the National Institute for the Deaf, the National Council for people with Physical Disabilities and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. All students are unemployed, previously disadvantaged young people. The class of 2008 consists of 36 students. Students receive a Learner Stipend, which includes a transport allowance from Compass Group SA, uniforms and a tool kit. The kit includes a full set of cheffing knives, a lunchtime meal and membership of the South African Chefs Association.
