The $750,000 worth state-of-the-art hospitality school was first conceptualized 15 years ago. It broke ground on New Year’s Eve this year and started construction on February 15. Last week, NECO Construction finally finished the building.
“We are finished with the construction,” Yang Chun Shao of NECO Construction said in an interview. “The only thing they’re going to do is start the installation of necessary furnishings and appliances.”
The Tourism School, which is housed inside the PCC Campus, is a joint venture among the Ministry of Education, PCC and Belau Tourism Authority (BTA). In January last year, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed among the three parties, and PCC donated an old dorm building for the school’s location.
The Hospitality School will have facilities such as a commercial kitchen, restaurant, bar and an alfresco area. The second floor will house a mock hotel room, reservation, reception and concierge area, as well as two classrooms for practicum and theory classes.
Among those which will be installed in the building is a Solar Water Heater System, which the German government funded for PTHSE.
PTHSE aims to train and equip students with a range of skills, knowledge and confidence needed for Palau’s growing tourism industry.
According to Minister of Education Masaaki Emesiochel, instructors will come from other countries and other regions. “We will also be coordinating with hotels and other hospitality industries.” He added that when they started with the concept 15 years ago, they also started a strong partnership with hotels and other businesses.
Target enrollees of PTHSE are high school graduates, college students, industry employers and employees for refreshment courses, public and private sector personnel for retraining of new employees or training of the unemployed or disabled.
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