A total of 93 young people applied to the Hotel and Tourism program in Sundsvall and 14 of them are now starting their education at Realgymnasiet. It was gratifying for the industry that there was so much interest, says Anna Borggren, hotel director at Clarion Hotel® Sundsvall.
The official opening of the Hotel and Tourism program in Sundsvall will begin on Monday, October 23rd at 4:00 PM. The program is a collaboration between Clarion Hotel® Sundsvall and Realgymnasiet, where students are offered a job guarantee at one of the hotels in the Strawberry chain after three years.
– It is a collaboration that already exists in several locations in Sweden and we are now pleased that we can offer the training in Sundsvall, says Anna Borggren, hotel director at Clarion Hotel® Sundsvall. We see it as a unique opportunity to be involved in educating and showing students what it is like to work in the industry.
It is a three-year training course that includes both theory and practice. The internship will be at Clarion Hotel® Sundsvall.
– It is fantastic to meet these committed students who are interested in all the different departments in a hotel. Since the first day they have taken us by storm and it creates a sense of professional pride among the employees at the hotel when they get to help train their future colleagues. The students give us a lot of energy when they come up with many new ideas and perspectives, says Katarina Gälldin, Guest Service Manager at Clarion Hotel® Sundsvall:
The training proved to be popular, with a total of 93 people applying for the 14 places.
– For the first year, we had 93 applicants, which is far above our expectations, says Anneli Harrvik, principal at Realgymnasiet. We had planned for 12 places, with an increase of two places to give additional space to some applicants. Next year we will make sure to take in more.
Visita sees increased interest in the Hotel and Tourism program throughout Sweden, and believes in uniting the school with the business community during training.
– Incredibly gratifying to see such a high number of applications for the Hotel and Tourism program in Sundsvall. A gratifying trend that we also see in the rest of Sweden, and especially in schools that are certified. It is important for schools and businesses to come together and cooperate so that students get the right tools and knowledge. The supply of skills is one of Visita's most important issues and the tourism industry's biggest challenge, where Sundsvall and the certified schools can now be a good example of how schools and businesses can be part of the solution, says Magnus Draheim Kling, Regional Manager for Visita Norrland.
