News > CATT Alumni Newsletter - March 2009
CATT Alumni Newsletter - March 2009
Greetings
Welcome to the first edition of Alumni Access. Due to your involvement, we have been a successful program in high schools across Canada for the past 14 years. As we’re sure you’re aware, the tourism industry has a lot of exciting career opportunities that you may be anxious to pursue.
This update will be sent out twice a year to keep you connected with the CATT community, advise you of inside industry information that may be of interest to you, and provide a link to the many opportunities that await you in the tourism sector.
If you would like to submit any items for the next CATT Alumni Access, please do so before September 15th, 2009.
A native of Kingston, Ontario, Jared Braithwaite never planned on joining the C.I.A. A 2007 graduate of the Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism (CATT) program at Loyalist Collegiate Vocational Institute (LCVI) in Kingston. He now attends the most prestigious culinary school in the United States, the Culinary Institute of America, more commonly known as the C.I.A. The school is in Hyde Park, New York, an hour north of Manhattan.
Jared explains that he became interested in cooking at age 15: “I started cooking for my family and helped my mom make dinner – usually quick and easy meals like spaghetti or stir-fries. My mom was really busy because she is a nurse.”
When one of Germain Landry’s four children entered the Canadian Academy of Travel and Tourism (CATT) at St. Mary's Secondary School in Cobourg, Ontario, he could not have foreseen how it would come to involve his family so fully.
Germain, a teacher also at St. Mary’s, had some passing knowledge of the program, which gives high school students the opportunity to build a solid start in the tourism sector by following the regular curriculum with a specialization in tourism. When his eldest daughter, Meghan, expressed an interest in joining CATT, he thought it would be a great opportunity to build the transferrable skills that would see her through to post-secondary school and into the workforce.
TIP is an ID card program for employees and students who are actively engaged in the Canadian tourism industry. In addition to allowing card holders to store work history and resume information, TIP offers access to a tourism-specific job bank that allows you to post and browse employment opportunities online. As a TIP card holder, you will also be kept up to date on the latest trends and challenges impacting tourism in Canada, and TIAC will validate your work history from the date of enrolment, assuring prospective employers that your career choice is tourism.
In late 2008, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) re-launched their web network with a new platform for CATT, emerit, and Discover Tourism.
You will find the Discover Tourism site a handy resource; it provides a wealth of career development information for job seekers, job descriptors for every tourism occupation, an interactive zone, and resources to help employers attract and retain skilled employees.
The Discover Tourism Employer of Choice (EOC) program – the only program of its kind available to employers across Canada – is available absolutely FREE on the site. EOC is an on-line, bilingual registration and certification program aiming to help companies with their workforce attraction and retention efforts.
Building the CATT Alumni Network
We have received many stories from CATT alumni about their successes in the industry. To obtain more of these stories and post them on our website, we will be creating the CATT Alumni Network. It is currently being established as part of the member area on the new CATT website. This group will serve as a network for CATT alumni like yourself so you can share contacts, experiences, and job searching ideas.
By building the CATT Alumni Network, CATT can assist you with increasing your contacts, help connect you to other former CATT students working in the industry, and provide a link for communications from our industry partners – potential employers!
Click here to join the CATT Alumni Network and become a member of the CTHRC professional online community.
We would like to share your CATT and post-CATT experiences in our newsletters or on our website. We’d love to hear from you! Sharing success stories from CATT alumni is the best reinforcement and validation of the CATT program. Contact us, with your tourism experiences today.
go2 has created two Facebook pages: one targeted to international job seekers and the other to Canadians. The goal of both pages is to promote career opportunities in BC’s tourism industry and connect BC employers with potential employees. They hope to increase awareness of the industry’s 400-plus job and career opportunities and ultimately help employers fill jobs.
Social media marketing is the latest addition to go2’s overall career awareness strategy and it is designed to work with go2’s other tactics such as career fairs, school presentations, public relations activities, website, and advertising. The social media strategy is a multi-year initiative that will grow to encompass other channels such as YouTube, Squidoo, Friends Reunited, LinkedIn, and social bookmarking.
The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council has forged a growing partnership with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and one of New York’s most famous properties, The Plaza Hotel. This historic landmark hotel overlooking Central Park has recently undergone a major transformation. In addition to bricks-and-mortar enhancements, The Plaza set out to establish an even higher employee performance standard, ensuring its guests would be the recipients of consistently exceptional service.
The Plaza’s team worked with the Council to create an innovative set of “5 Star World Class Standards” for 21 occupations that provide the majority of services at The Plaza. These positions affect every element of a guest’s stay, from a courteous booking with a Reservations Sales Agent to a smooth check in with a Front Desk Agent, through to an impeccable room courtesy of a Housekeeping Room Attendant, stellar service from a Bartender, and gracious assistance from a Concierge.
Contact Us
We are more than happy to address any questions you may have about the Canadian Academy of Travel & Tourism. We are also more than happy to hear your feedback regarding this communication. Is there an aspect of CATT you would like to know more about?
Jason Gourley
Project Manager, CATT Program
Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council
(t) 613-231-6949 jgourley@cthrc.ca
