Toga Hospitality, the group behind the prominent Medina Apartment Hotels, Vibe Hotels and Travelodge brands, asked TAFE NSW – Northern Sydney Institute to act as their Registered Training Organisation (RTO) so that 90 employees across the country could complete a Certificate III in Hospitality (Operations).
Simon Blackman, Training and Development Manager, Toga Hospitality couldn’t be more complimentary of Northern Sydney Institute.
‘TAFE NSW is a pleasure to deal with,’ Mr Blackman said. ‘They have all the elements we were looking for.’
As Toga’s in-house trainer, Mr Blackman liaises with Northern Sydney Institute which is providing national training and assessment services.
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Want consistent training outcomes across the nation? |
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TAFE NSW can help transfer learning to the workplace. |
An agreement was signed by Toga Hospitality in September 2008 for the Institute to act as the Registered Training Organisation (RTO) in respect to the 90 National Existing Worker Traineeships. Students complete their Certificate III in Hospitality (Operations) in August 2009.
The challenge for Toga was to find a professional and flexible partner that could provide services nationally. Northern Sydney Institute delivered a quality solution in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and the ACT.
Clive Hartley, Head Teacher Food and Beverage at Northern Sydney Institute’ Ryde College, said: ‘It’s a program that works well with industry and allows students to learn and work in the workplace. They can get all the skills they require on the job. It’s a matter of recognising their skills for the [nationally-recognised] certificate.
‘The training is done by us in a distance-mode, multi-pronged approach, with on-the-job assessment done by distance learning. There are assignments that students undertake for that, then there’s face-to-face delivery through the company’s orientation program.
‘Northern Sydney Institute assessors then look at what in-house training is done by the company and that forms part of the assessment. Some training is by distance learning, which is complemented by on-the-job observation. We make sure it meets the national training framework for Certificate III,’ he said.
‘We see a bright future for this type of training. This is the first of many delivery modes that bridge the gap between industry and TAFE NSW programs – programs that we can deliver nationwide.’
Toga’s Mr Blackman said the training is ‘going brilliantly’.
‘It helps us towards achieving our goal of being an Employer of Choice by 2010. The students are very positive. At end of each session we get feedback from them and they can now use what they’ve learned on the job,’ he said.
‘There’s a better transfer of learning from the training environment to workplace. And the standardisation for the hotel in tasks from answering the phone, to up-selling products including conferences events and restaurants, to rooms, aligns with our operational goals, improving company revenue,’ he added.
The partnership is set to grow with an additional agreement to be ratified for 11 more Existing Worker Traineeships in Western Australia in June. Students will commence a Certificate IV in Hospitality in Semester Two 2009.
