The Philippines is located in Southeast Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean.  It has a population of 92 million, making it the 12th most populated country in the world.  An archipelago comprised of 7,107 islands, it is divided into three main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.  There are 175 known languages, though four are no longer spoken.  The capital city is Manila.

On a cold winter afternoon in January, two STEC employees boarded a plane destined for Manila, Philippines.  More than 24 hours later, Diane Cohoon, Manager of Training, and Jan Rodda, Training Consultant, admired the colourful street lamps along the famed Roxas Boulevard, an eight lane road that runs parallel to the Manila Bay, while on their way to the Diamond Hotel.

For the next five days, Diane and Jan trained 11 facilitators at the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA), a Filipino training institute that works closely with international organizations to equip graduates with a strong foundation in the tourism and hospitality industry.

This unique opportunity to train overseas was made possible because of a recent partnership that STEC entered into with the Canadian International Training & Education Corporation (CITREC).  CITREC is a Vancouver-based institution that partners with Canadian organizations to assist foreign nationals across the world access standard-based tourism education and training in their home countries.

The agreement between STEC and CITREC followed a partnership between CITREC and the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC).  This partnership will allow the international community to access emerit training and to obtain an  Occupational Knowledge Certificate in a classroom setting.

The Training Experience

The city was different--a seawall along the bay, street sweepers with broomsticks, a jeepney for neighbourhood transportation, and thousands of crisscrossing telephone, electrical and cable wires between buildings--but the training was familiar.  The Facilitator Skills Development Workshop, followed by an introduction to 14 of the CTHRC's national occupational standards, and an introduction to Serve It Right Saskatchewan and Service Best.

The Facilitator Skills Development Workshop, in particular, received much positive feedback.

"It's because these practitioners are all facilitators," Diane said of the 11 Filipinos who partook in the week-long training.  "They work in the industry, [for example], Nick was an executive housekeeper in a big hotel in Manila for almost twenty years and Napoleon has spent his entire career making pastry on the cruise lines."

Jan added that while the concepts put forward in the Facilitator Skills Development Workshop were not new to the Filipino facilitators--all are skilled professionals who work in the classroom--the methodology showed them how to better assist their students in connecting the dots when learning new material.  One of the main objectives of the Facilitator Skills Development Workshop is to assist facilitators to better understand the principles of adult learning.

"They want their students to have the best possible experience and they want to know what it takes to make that happen," Diane explained.

The second part of the week-long training, which the Filipino facilitators will deliver to their own classes, consisted of an introduction to 14 of the CTHRC's national occupational standards.  The standards were purchased by MIHCA following its agreement with the CTHRC to assess emerit training resources.

"You can go online, download the standards, and it doesn't cost you a dime," Diane said.  "But MIHCA is interested in everything that goes with the standards.  How do you use them for training?  How do you test them?  What does the whole package look like?"

Midway through their week-long training, Diane and Jan answered these questions by reviewing the 14 standards with the Filipino facilitators.  The standards include: Bartender, Banquet Server, Event Coordinator, Event Manager, Food and Beverage Manager, Food and Beverage Server, Front Desk Agent, Housekeeping Room Attendant, In-Room Dining Server, Kitchen Helper, Line Cook, Reservation Sales Agent, Sales Manager, and Supervisor.  To better understand the standards, each of the Filipino facilitators was required to develop a mock training session based on one of the above.

This was followed by an additional two days of training that included an introduction to Serve It Right Saskatchewan, a responsible service of alcohol program, and Service Best, an internationally recognized workshop that assists frontline staff in the delivery of superior customer service.  Both will be delivered by the Filipino facilitators when instructing their own classes.

"STEC is now becoming the source of standards-based training in the Philippines," Jan said, adding that STEC is already a leader in standards-based training in Canada.  All standards that STEC delivers are developed by tourism sector professionals for tourism sector professionals.

At the graduation ceremony, Diane and Jan's hard work was rewarded with glowing comments from the 11 Filipino facilitators, who said the pair exceeded their expectations.

"We can only hope that MIHCA will be successful in the delivery of STEC programming," Jan said.  "But we feel assured that this is the beginning of a long-term partnership."

The Cultural Experience

Diane and Jan's hard work was interrupted with a few cultural experiences throughout the week, with a visit to the Mall of Asia--a 4.2 million square foot open air mall with carnival grounds that feature a carousel, bumper cars, and giant glass balls that people can roll around in--to a traditional Filipino meal at the Sis Seafood Bar & Restaurant located along the Manila Bay esplanade.

At the restaurant, guests are met by a server who takes them to the "wet" market, also known as the fish market, where they are greeted by tables piled high with fresh seafood.

"All of the food in its fresh form from the sea is laid out and you pick what you're going to have for supper," Diane said.  "So, we picked some lovely prawns.  They were huge.  We got some nice squid and crab and tilapia--"

"But we left behind the frogs and turtles," Jan interrupted, somehow grimacing and laughing at once.

Upon returning to the restaurant, the fish was prepared by a local cook and served.

"One of the ways they prepare food is called adobo [a marinade or seasoning mix] and you can have many things cooked in that style," Diane said, adding that when the squid adobo was placed on the table she noticed Jan queasily eyeing the sea creature now marinating in its cooked ink, seasoned with garlic, shallots and tamarind.

"I saw Jan's face, so I ate her share and didn't say anything!" Diane said, laughing.

To view pictures of Diane and Jan's trip on Facebook, click here.