InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Papua New Guinea has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Caritas Technical Secondary School to provide practical training and career pathways for young Papua New Guineans in the hospitality industry.
The signing ceremony was held at the Holiday Inn in Port Moresby city, witnessed by representatives from both organizations and members of the media.
IHG PNG's portfolio includes the Crowne Plaza Residences Port Moresby, Holiday Inn & Suites, and Holiday Inn Express.
The MoU was signed by IHG PNG Portfolio General Manager Anne Busfield, Crowne Plaza Residences Port Moresby General Manager David Shayestehfar, and Director of Caritas Schools PNG, Sister Mazzarello Choi.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ms. Busfield said the partnership is more than just an agreement; it is about creating opportunities and a bright future for young Papua New Guineans.
"Today we are here to celebrate an important milestone for IHG PNG and also for Caritas as we sign off our Memorandum of Understanding," Ms. Busfield said.
"It's more than just signing off a Memorandum of Understanding today, it's about forming a partnership and creating opportunities for a bright future for young Papua New Guineans within IHG PNG and the hospitality industry in Papua New Guinea."
Ms. Busfield said IHG believes hospitality is all about people and is committed to developing local talent and supporting communities where it operates.
"Through this partnership we have an opportunity to provide students who are studying at Caritas the opportunity to experience life and work across all of our hotels," she said.
"It will give the students access to learning, development and practical opportunities across all of our departments throughout the hotel which are very wide ranging and then of course it will help them build their confidence, their knowledge and their future careers."
She thanked Caritas for its trust and acknowledged the IHG team, particularly Mr. Shayestehfar, for creating the opportunity.
Also, speaking at the event Sister Mazzarello Choi said the partnership will allow Caritas students to apply classroom learning in a real workplace environment.
"Thank you, so much General Manager Ms. Anne and Mr. David for giving our school this kind of wonderful opportunity for our students so that they can apply what they learn in the classroom and then they can learn hands-on skills in the workplace so that they can uplift their ability to adapt wherever they are working," Sr. Choi said.
"We are very thankful; we are very blessed for giving this kind of chance from your generosity and from your partnership and then I hope we can have this kind of chances to expand toward our secondary school and to our flexible learning centre students."
Ms. Busfield said the signing marks the beginning of what they hope will be a long and meaningful partnership between Caritas and IHG PNG.
“We look forward to seeing the positive impact that this collaboration will have on Caritas students, not just now, but in the future and for many years to come," she said.
The ceremony concluded with the formal signing of the MoU and a group photo with representatives from IHG PNG, Caritas and students.