Few cities around the world can compete with New York when it comes to historic landmarks like Times Square, Central Park, Carnegie Hall, the Rocketfeller Center, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and The Plaza Hotel.

 

The Plaza is renowned for its grandeur, elegance, and timelessness.  Located between Central Park and Fifth Avenue, it offers guests a world of luxury with amenities ranging from legendary rooms, an elegant bar, and stylish club to boutiques, fine food, and health and wellness facilities.  With all of this on its side, the managers of this Five Star hotel – owned by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts – are still aware that while luxury is top priority, guest services is an integral ingredient to achieving excellence. 

 

“A hotel does not become a great hotel without great people who offer great service,” says Jane Yrenaya, Director of Learning at The Plaza, adding that the hotel was recently faced with “some remarkable challenges” in attempting to re-integrate 200 employees hired back after extensive renovations. 

 

This led to a partnership between Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) to establish “Five Star World Class Standards” for the 21 occupations that provide the majority of services at The Plaza, from Housekeeping Room Attendants to Front Desk Agents and Butlers.  The new credentials incorporate The Plaza’s Ritchie and Mobil standards and the CTHRC’s emerit standards, established for the Canadian industry. 

 

Seasoned tourism training experts from across Canada were recruited to participate in an eight-person Assessor Team.  From April 21 to 28, 2008, the team assisted with the training of 100 Fairmont employees and the administration of written occupational knowledge exams and "on-the-job" performance evaluations. 

 

STEC's high level of achievement was recognized when two of the eight individuals on the team were selected from our office.  Carol-Lynne Quintin and Diane Cohoon were chosen because of their vast experience in the tourism sector and participation in certification. 

 

Quintin was hired by STEC in 1998 as a Training Assistant with Tourism Careers for Youth and soon became the Career Awareness Coordinator.  In 2004, she moved into her current position as Standards & Certification Coordinator.  Quintin’s duties include coordinating all aspects of national certification candidates’ progress, including supervising exams, recruiting and training exam supervisors and performance evaluation assessors, liaising with the industry to develop standards and related training/testing material, and coordinating requirements for apprentices within designated tourism trades.

 

Cohoon started her employment in the food and beverage services industry of the tourism sector in 1970 as a Food and Beverage Server, Bartender, Shift Supervisor, and Manager at Cuisine Enterprises.  She then worked for sixteen years as an operator at Morley’s Gourmet Burger Emporium.  Cohoon is certified as a Food and Beverage Server, Food and Beverage Manager, Bartender, Tourism Trainer, and is also a Food and Beverage Person Journeyperson.  She is currently the Manager of Training at STEC. 

 

Both Quintin and Cohoon received the SATCC 2005-2006 award for Outstanding Technical Training Team for Food and Beverage Person/Guest Services Representative. 

 

Cohoon returned to The Plaza in March 2009 to evaluate the remaining 100 employees currently undergoing training.  The staff evaluated in April 2008 demonstrated a 95% success rate. 

 

The partnership between the CTHRC and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has resulted in the customization of Canadian emerit credentials that will eventually be recognized in Fairmont hotels world-wide.

 

 

The CTHRC is also a leader in the development of the International Event Management Standard (IEMS).  The National Occupational Standard for the profession of Event Coordinator was first developed in 1990 by STEC.  The province of Saskatchewan hosted a committee comprised of 12 industry professionals who outlined the knowledge, skills, and attitude required of an Event Coordinator.

 

Six years later, the standard was validated nationally under the CTHRC.  The most recent updates to the standard came in 2004 when the CTHRC launched emerit – a combination of occupational standards, business resources, and online and paper-based training materials that assist participants in achieving Professional Certification. 

 

The emerit brand was integral to the development of the IEMS, established from the occupational standards and curricula from nine countries, including: Canada, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Germany, Scotland, and Luxembourg.

 

The IEMS builds on the Event Management Body of Knowledge (EMBOK) framework, which outlines the knowledge and skills needed to create, develop, and deliver an event.  The CTHRC is partnering with the Executive of EMBOK to build on its existing framework and harmonize standards for event management worldwide.

 

In the summer of 2010, the CTHRC and international stakeholder groups announced that the first international emerit Event Management standard and certification program is set to launch in Canada in the fall of 2010.  To learn more, click here.

STEC is also expanding its reach.  In the spring of 2009, we attended the National Job Fair & Training Expo in Toronto.  At the job fair, we spoke with individuals from Canada and around the world about career opportunities in Saskatchewan’s tourism sector.