from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – THE United Nations (UN) Tourism has announced a partnership with the Ministry of Tourism of Zambia to establish the first collaborative academy in Africa.
They have partnered with the Zambia Institute For Tourism and Hospitality Studies (ZITHS) Mukuni International Academy for Tourism and Hospitality. Another academy is to be unveiled in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
These academies to be rolled out will help train the tourism workers of tomorrow in a range of specialisms, giving African tourism the talent it needs to thrive.”
Laying the foundation stone in Livingstone, UN Tourism Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, said, “Africa’s tourism sector is growing and diversifying at a tremendous rate.”
The academy will offer a range of courses, all focused on equipping students both new to the sector and establishing tourism workers the skills they need to find work or advance in their careers.
Rodney Sikumba, Minister of Tourism of Zambia, said through the adoption of the UN Tourism Education Guidelines, Zambia had been able to reposition the role of education in tourism development.
“The establishment of the academy is a game changer of how we will bridge the evident skills gap for the existing and future workforce of our tourism sector,” Sikumba said.
The academy in Zambia is the culmination of a memorandum between the ministry and UN Tourism.
– CAJ News