The Caribbean Hospitality Training Institute, (CHTI), a division of the CHA, recently announced the product launch of Caribcert, a new training and education tool. Caribcert is a standards and certification system built å‘by the industry and for the industryå’ and will assess and certify the competence of individuals according to standards established for 45 tourism occupations in food and beverage, housekeeping, food prep and front office operations.
In the announcement, Alex Titcombe, Director of Product Development and Operations for the CHA commented, ‘Linked to on job training, Caribcert
provides an industry-based professional certification, easily affordable and flexible for both large and small hotels alike. We encourage all CHA members to take advantage of this great opportunity, which can benefit both the workforce and the industry. Caribcert will help reposition the Caribbean as a leading tourism destination.’
Hospitality workers will no longer face uncertainty of what their job requirements are. These standards will inform every individual being trained of the skills, knowledge and behaviours he or she is required to bring to the job. They will also be the benchmark against which excellence is measured.
During training and assessment employees will be assisted by the supervisors or managers in identifying their strengths and weaknesses. In this way supervisors and managers are encouraged whilst the employees can be improved via further training and reassessed as necessary.

According to Angela Herbert, coordinator of the project, ‘tourism and hospitality personnel have a system that will recognise achievements across the region and ultimately improve the quality of tourism service offered region wide.’

Herbert added, ‘Caribcert has been eagerly welcomed by hoteliers. The program will definitely help all regional workers who possess and display, with pride, a certificate recognised across the Caribbean that says that the awardees are competent, knowledgeable and skilled.’
Caribcert was developed by the Caribbean Tourism Credentialing Program, (CTCP), a regional project, jointly funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund, (MIF), of the Inter-American Development bank, (IDB), and the CHA. Its aim is to increase the international competitiveness of the tourism and hospitality workforce in the Caribbean.
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