#Headlines

GTHI poised to decentralise youth trainings

Dec 8, 2020, 10:24 AM | Article By: Njie Baldeh

Dawda Nyang, director-general, Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI), says the institute is sparing no effort to decentralise the trainings of youth across the country to minimise the rural urban migration. “So this is the reason why we want to have training centers in all the regions.”

DG Nyang was speaking to journalists recently at Tendaba Camp as part of the Tourism Minister’s nationwide tour visiting all tourism and heritage sites.

“We’re also going to have a programme in URR where we would train over 100 youths in different programmes, ranging from hospitality to bakery,” he said, adding that last year they started their expansion programme, trying to have training access starting from LRR and CRR where “we have trained over 150 students in different programmes, and the good news is when we went round the country, we realised that almost everybody we trained is engaged.”

Mr Nyang added that they are prepared because the ministry is trying to promote regional tourism, adding that is not only about the facilities and structures, “but the services because you need the people to be trained to provide the adequate services.”

“GTHI is a government institution, but we try to run it as a business, and you know building facilities are expensive. So what we trying to do is to have strategic partnership with some of the lodges in the regions, so that we can train their people.”

To create employment opportunities, he added, they would not waste any time. “So that’s why we want to start this programme to train the youths in the regions so that they can move in and take up employment.”

“We cannot train enough so that’s why we are soliciting government’s support and I was assured by the minister that there would be another additional facility in terms of training for kitchen equipment and facilities so that we can train more.”