Lanith Vientiane breaks ground for “Centre of Excellence”

VIENTIANE - Lanith Vientiane (Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality) held a groundbreaking ceremony on 30 October 2014, for its EUR 750,000 “Centre of Excellence” education and skills training complex, which will expand the capacity of the institute’s tourism and hospitality campus on Fa Ngum Road in the capital.

The Luxembourg Development Cooperation-funded, two-storey, 1,750-square-metre complex features a restaurant d’application similar to Lanith Luang Prabang’s “The Balcony”, and holds six modern classrooms; a fully equipped training kitchen; a housekeeping lab; a tour operator/front office lab; and staff offices. Construction is slated for completion in October 2015.

While thanking Luxembourg for its six-plus years of ongoing support, Lanith Director Saysavath Chasane stated that the Centre of Excellence at Lanith Vientiane, a Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) national institute, aims to meet the growing human resource needs of the vibrant Lao PDR tourism trade.

“Capacity for Lanith Vientiane’s two-year Lanith Diploma educational program currently stands at nearly 100 per cent with close to 60 fulltime students. The new Centre of Excellence will expand our capacity to 200 students,” she said, adding that the complex will offer Lanith’s award-winning Passport to Success skills training modules during the weekends and over school holiday breaks.

MoES Director General of TVET Nouphanh Outsa expressed the ministry’s gratitude to the Luxembourg Government for funding Lanith Vientiane’s Centre of Excellence, which will stand at the forefront of Lao PDR’s efforts to educate and train the nation’s tourism and hospitality students and workforce.

“Lanith has been instrumental in the human capital development of Lao PDR’s travel sector, which is a top contributor to the nation’s GDP,” he pointed out, while stressing, “Lanith aims to tap Lao PDR tourism’s true potential by advancing service quality to meet international standards. The new Lanith Vientiane complex will expand their capacity to achieve this.”

Luxembourg Embassy Hanoi Charge d’Affaires Claude Jentgen congratulated Lanith on its many achievements, and stated the institute’s success record is impressive.

“Lanith is quickly but steadily growing, with its dynamic approach to national human capital development for the tour and hospitality sector winning global accolades,” he said, adding, “Luxembourg Development Cooperation is proud to have supported Lanith from its conception.”

Ms. Chasane explained Lanith’s innovative approach to human capital development, which is based on three levels – national, provincial, and district/village – to fulfill the nation’s needs.

“Lanith Vientiane and the Centre of Excellence, for which we are breaking ground today, serve as the national model for hospitality and tourism education and training in the country,” she said. “This is where standards and curricula are developed and piloted and where the Lanith Diploma is delivered.”

At the provincial level, Lanith Luang Prabang has been offering Passport to Success and accompanying “Go for Gold” skills training programs since 2013 as well as the Lanith Certificate, which is currently being piloted with 32 participants. The Lanith Luang Prabang complex, which encompasses The Balcony restaurant d’application, guestrooms, and a meeting room, was also funded by Luxembourg Development Cooperation.

Earlier this year, Lanith Luang Prabang began overseeing the operation of “The Mark” certification for clean and safe dining. This initiative awards Luang Prabang dining establishments with The Mark for meeting strict international standards for food production safety and hygiene.

Lanith has partnered with SwissContact to offer a district-level mobile training program in the Four Thousand Islands. This pilot project, Pheun Than Heng A Sip, delivers tailored training to guesthouse operators and community-based tourism enterprises. Lanith is also partnering with GIZ’s RELATED project to offer executive training programmes in preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia