Over 150 students that attended the 5th Annual Workforce Readiness Boot Camp were told that they must prepare themselves to embrace opportunities that will be offered to them.

"Good manners and a good attitude are the most important elements to achieving success," Minister of Education. Science and Technology Jerome Fitzgerald told the students at the event sponsored by the Career and Technical Education Section of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in conjunction with the Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute (CHMI) of The College of The Bahamas, and the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA). He told them that discipline, commitment and the willingness to become a life-long learner were characteristics that the students will find beneficial to their progress in the workplace.

The two-day seminar held under the theme "Poised for Success ... Thinking Outside the Box" was for the high school students to learn about employment expectations, and to have an opportunity to speak with industry representatives from the hotel and tourism industry, the financial services sector, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and The College of The Bahamas.

Frank Comito, executive vice-president of BHTA told the students that job opportunities in the tourism sector were available for those who show promise, excel, do their best and are punctual.

"Preparation for a job in tourism prepares you for a job anywhere," said Comito. And he reminded the students that first impressions are lasting and that they need to make a positive first impression when they present themselves to a future employer.

Dr. Sophia Rolle, acting director of CHMI, told the students she would like to see more focused attention on tourism education and training from the kindergarten to the tertiary level in The Bahamas. She said that Bahamians entering the sector need to attend college and become certified so that they can assume management roles. She encouraged the participants to embrace not a job, but a career, because they would invest their time, resources and passion in the opportunity that they are creating for themselves.

Dr. Rolle told the students to take ownership of their future and set examples in their academics and skills. "You have to be the best that you can be. At CHMI, we want to assist in shaping and molding you into the best in this field," she said.

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