Our hospitality students are seeing some great benefits from Kangan Institute’s work placement partnership with Mantra Tullamarine Hotel, with many students securing employment with the Australian hotel and resort giant.
For Melissa Carmichael who recently gained employment as a food and beverage attendant at Mantra Tullamarine Hotel, her Hospitality qualification of a Certificate III in Hospitality has indeed provided her with a pathway into her dream future.
“I chose this course specifically based on its core components and for the fact it gave us industry exposure. Experience is hard to come by when so many people are looking for work,” she said. “Being placed in the Mantra has allowed their staff to see our work ethic and commitment to not only our course but to the industry itself. It has been a great opportunity to get our foot in the door.”
“I find the fact that we can easily and so readily liaise with the teaching staff extremely invaluable. Everyone wants you to do well and we endeavour to work as a team to achieve this,” she said.
Melissa’s role currently involves waiting tables, bar work as well as providing service for functions, and she regards every day as an opportunity to gain more experience to advance into front office and managerial roles in the tourism and hospitality sector.
“Every day is different and we get a wide variety of guests,” she said. “My future goals are to work in front office or concierge and work my way into a supervisory or managerial position within a few years. I would also love the opportunity to work internationally in this field.”
Kisnen Jovin, F&B director at Mantra, says the partnership with Kangan Institute has been an opportunity for Mantra to support skill building whilst gaining access to skilled future employees.
“Compared to other schools, Kangan Institute is doing well in training the students properly before they start work here. The students are equipped, know all the basics and are people who want to learn and train hard,” said Kisnen Jovin, F&B director at Mantra.
“Mantra is proud to be helping students with getting experience and something to put on their resume. A lot of employers seek experienced workers but if nobody is willing to give work experience opportunities to students, it’ll be hard for them to find jobs.
“It’s also a good thing for Mantra – by training students early we have more options when it comes to hiring skilled people.”
