Don Bosco Hotel School of Sihanoukville has reached its second year of educational service to poor youth. Almost all the first 110 graduated students are already working in hotels, restaurants, and guest houses. This is a small but significative contribution to Cambodia after decades marked by violence and poverty. When enrolling students in our Hotel School, the priority is given to boys and girls coming from disadvantaged families and to orphans.
Following St. John Bosco’s tradition, we try to help this youth-in-need preparing them for a job. One of the best ways to do this in an emerging international tourist destination is to offer them training in Hospitality and Hotel Services

THE SCHOOL
During the academic year 2007-2008, our school offered training to 110 students.  The courses lasted one year.
During the present academic year we are enrolling 142 students, the courses now last 2 year and they will end on October 2010.
72 students are on full-board basis, the other 70 are staying with their families in town. Our School can fully accommodate 50 female and 24 male boarder students.

ACTIVITIES
Students attend daily classes from 8.00 am to 16.00 pm. Students and trainers visit on regular basis the best hotels in Sihanoukville and get briefed there by Hotel Managers and Human Resources Managers on various professional topics. Many students serve a period in internship in big hotels in Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Other students provide service to guests in our Gelato Italiano coffee-shop and ice-cream parlour down town. Ice cream produced in the hotel school is also sold on the beach.
Our students also take part in Catering services offered by the School and they spend 45 minutes per day to care of the gardens surrounding the school.
Hotel School students join the next-door Technical School in sport and feast activities.

TRAINING
Students can chose 2 of 4 departments, Front Office, Housekeeping, Food and Beverage and Cooking.
In each department, beside practice modules, students attend classes in Hospitality Operating Standards, Tourism, History and Geography, English, Information Technology, Good Manners and Ethics.
Being the school site a real, working hotel, students provide service to the guests while professional staff assist and monitor their performances.

JOBS
Almost all students get a job as soon as they finish the training. Many of them get a job after their internship in various hotels. Despite the world’s economic crisis, tourism is still increasing in Cambodia; hotels are looking for skilled workforces, so young graduates have a good chance to start their career without any delay.
Young graduates usually receive a salary starting from 70 $ to 300 $ according to their position and skill. Maybe not a great deal in the U.S. or Europe, but it’s a small fortune over here.

     
      Practicing with real customers adds value to the training

Thank you for your kind attention