Terenga Ltd., the master licensee for the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) in Nigeria, is working with the Cross River State Tourism Bureau to provide hospitality training for up to 5,000 workers in the next five years using a globally-successful method known as “cascade training.”
The training began with a class held October 16-20, at which up to 17 hospitality professionals received training to become Certified Hospitality Trainers (CHT). Those trainers will then train others to become Certified Hospitality Departmental Trainers, who will in turn provide training for front-line workers. In this way, training “cascades” through all levels of a hospitality organization, ensuring a continuum of consistent, measurable training.
The Cascade training model began as a hospitality training project in Egypt, originally funded by USAID in 2002 in partnership with the Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF), to produce a qualified workforce for the Egyptian hotel and tourism industry using EI’s focused training and certification programs. In its first year, the cascade training model trained 20 master trainers, 500 department trainers, and 8,000 line-level employees. Since 2002, ETF has trained more than 100,000 line-level trainees and 2,750 CHDTs using EI programs.
Cascade training has been successfully implemented in several other countries, including Armenia, Albania, and the Caribbean.
“We are pleased to support the Cross River Tourism Board in its vision to lift the standards of staff working in the tourism and hospitality sector in the State to international standards. The cascade training that worked in Egypt can definitely work in Nigeria and we are proud to see Cross River State Tourism Bureau take the lead in implementing this initiative in Nigeria,” said Mr. Joe Oladipo, director of Terenga Limited. “The Nigerian hospitality and tourism industry is growing and shortage of trained staff remains a challenge.”
Commenting on the Cascade Training model, Mr. Michael Williams, MD, of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau said, "It is our aspiration to create an excellent level of hospitality service delivery throughout Cross River that will lead to repeat visitation. As the number of visitors grows, the tourism sector will expand while boosting the employment prospects of young people in the state.
Established in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Educational Institute’s mission is to continue being the preferred provider to the lodging industry, hospitality schools, and related hospitality industries by developing and providing quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals worldwide.
Terenga Limited specializes in training, research and consulting for the hospitality industry. As the leading source of quality hospitality education in the region, we are dedicated to developing human capital and management capacity for the world’s fastest growing industry (hospitality/tourism). We train the next generation of leaders for this dynamic industry. Build the skills and knowledge of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and enhance the ability of executives to deliver more effective outputs. Terenga Limited was incorporated in 2008.
