Hilton Residences promotes hospitality careers among youth

Hilton Colombo Residences recently organized a program aimed at educating young people about the vast array of exciting job opportunities available in the hospitality industry. The hotel hosted over 300 students representing over 20 schools in the Colombo District.

This initiative - Careers@Hilton Live: Youth in Hospitality Month - by Hilton Colombo Residences is part of Hilton Worldwide's annual global career event showcasing the many opportunities available in the hospitality industry for young people, throughout the month of May.

Head of Human Resources, Hilton Colombo Residences, Harsha Subashana said that this event targets about 400 youth in the country. "Many young individuals are not aware of the career opportunities available in hotels, they assume it's only a front office, kitchen, and housekeeping department - but there are so many administrative areas related to marketing, legal, finance, revenue, and sales that people are not aware of. This is the reason why we have had this forum for three consecutive years."

Director of Operations, Marlon Abeyakoon said, "We work with many young team members who are heading certain key roles; Hilton believes in empowering these team members to have maximum impact - we encourage students to look at hospitality as a way to grow, develop, and even travel." The Hotel's General Manager Karim Schadlou said, "When we conducted this forum earlier, we had over 350 attendants and some of them work in the hotel now. We are committed to making a change in our community, as it is the visions our Founder Conrad Hilton had to ensure that our efforts bring about change and development."

The hotel believes that by having such fora, the youth will gain awareness on several career prospects that are readily available for them within the industry.

The half day program began with an introduction to the hospitality industry, and the students were then assigned to groups to interact with the main departments in the hotel such as house-keeping, kitchen, and food and beverage. Each department conducted a workshop for students where they, too, were able to participate.