“Fifteen years ago, we restructured the educational curriculum of schools,” said Masaaki Emesiochel, Minister of Education. “We wanted students to be able to apply in real world what they learn in school. And so we developed academics, and one of them is tourism. But because of lack of resources and other challenges, that was never really started until now.”
The $750,000 state-of-the-art, two-storey hospitality school will include 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.
“It has been long delayed,” added Minister Emesiochel. “This is something that Palau really needs to accomplish.”
The estimated cost of building refurbishment and landscaping is $402,070. With funds raised amounting to $473,613, the school is set to start reconstruction in January.
“It was a year ago when we had the first fundraising event for PTHSE,” said PCC President Patrick U. Tellei during his speech. “And now, during the last day of the year and the second full moon, we break ground. We’re hopeful that the project will be done within six months.”
According to Tellei, PTHSE will be showcased to the whole Micronesia region on Aug. 1 as the campus will be host to the 7th Micronesian Game.
As soon as the structure is finished they will start the curriculum. According to Minister 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, they also started a strong partnership with hotels and other businesses. So at present, some students get a chance to work in these industries as part of their summer internship programs. “They want students to see the real work. We encourage more students to go into tourism industry,” he said.
Target enrollees of PTHSE are “high school graduates, college students, industry employers and employees for refreshment courses, public and private sector personnel for retraining or new skill and the unemployed and/or disabled.”
