JINJA – Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI) management and staff have been urged to develop a multi-dimensional approach to training students, including the use of storytelling.
This was during a week-long training of UHTTI staff and management on how best they can leverage on the available resources to become a center of excellence for hospitality and tourism training.
The training conducted by a renowned Belgian hospitality expert and instructor Olivier Willaert aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices on how best UHTTI can train holistic tourism professionals.
“Students learn more from storytelling but the story should be relevant and impactful,” Olivier said.
He, however, warned against using sad stories, saying such stories have the potential to scare students and disrupt their attention.
Olivier also urged management to make effective use of social media to market the institute and increase visibility.
“You need to develop a talking website, one that communicates. You can even have some pictures of managers on the website,” Olivier said.
The hospitality guru also urged the staff to come up with short courses to cater for those who may need the skills but do not have the time to enroll for long duration programs.
“The short courses can be designed depending on the needs of the society at a given period of time,” Olivier said.
Meanwhile, UHTTI Principal Richard Kawere commended Olivier for the training which he said will help the institute in its journey to a skills centre of excellence.
“In our journey to excellence, we need to share experiences from the best and trainings like this are very useful,” Kawere said.
The Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute has in the recent past entered a number of strategic partnerships, both local and international, aimed at propelling it to a centre of excellence in tourism and hospitality training.
Among the partners include Koksijde Hotel School in Belgium, ITH Salzburg in Austria, Nooderpoort Hospitality School in The Netherlands, American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute and Utali Tourism College in Kenya, among others.
