TORONTO — Marriott International announced a new and exclusive collaboration with The Prince’s Trust Canada to develop a hospitality-focused curriculum and internship program in an effort to support youth employment and growth in the future hospitality-talent pool in Canada. The Get Into Hospitality program will initially begin, as a pilot, at four Marriott International hotels in the Greater Toronto Area: the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, the Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel, the Delta Toronto and the Marriott Downtown Toronto Eaton Centre.
Prince’s Trust Canada seeks to provide work experience to disadvantaged youth that otherwise have difficulty gaining employment. Twenty unemployed Toronto youth, chosen through their affiliation with the Rexdale Women’s Centre and Yonge Street Mission, will participate in two weeks of rigorous in classroom training, followed by two weeks of training within the hotels, learning about the operations while shadowing various positions in housekeeping, banquets and other departments. Marriott International has committed to hiring at least 50 per cent of the program’s graduates.
“We recognize the importance of our role in helping prepare young people for careers in our industry. The opportunity to provide an open door for them to gain top-quality training, confidence and invaluable life skills in a supportive and dynamic environment is key,” says Don Cleary, president, Marriott International, Canada. “In addition to being an innovative approach to hiring, this new project provides career and training opportunities to disadvantaged youth and reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to providing opportunity and ‘putting people first’.”
On a global scale, the travel-and-tourism industry is forecast to grow at a faster rate than other major industries, supporting 126 million jobs directly over the next 10 years. At the same time, the demand for talent will continue to outpace talent supply. Both lack of jobs and training have historically been drivers for global youth unemployment and the hospitality industry is uniquely able to provide support for both, through programs with organizations such as Prince’s Trust Canada.
“Because of the diversity of its operations and number of jobs available in its 229 hotels across Canada, Marriott International is an ideal partner for our growing Get Into youth employment program,” says Sharon Broughton, CEO of Prince’s Trust Canada. “We are thrilled to be working with Marriott International to help more young people build their confidence, overcome barriers to employment and reach their potential.”
