USP Invests $1.3m in Nadi Hospitality and Tourism Training Centre
The Chief Executive Officer of the International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE), Ms
Pauline Tang officially opened The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Nadi Hospitality and Tourism Training Centre
on 18 August 2017.
The Centre, which is worth FJ$1.3m will conduct training for Certificates III and IV in Commercial Cookery, Certificate
III in Patisserie and Certificate IV in Hospitality Operations offered through the Pacific Technical and Further
Education (Pacific TAFE).
It is a simulated training centre which has a commercial kitchen, a restaurant and bar, as well as classrooms and staff
offices, for the delivery of Hospitality (Events, Food & Beverage, and Front Office), Commercial Cookery & Culinary and Patisserie (Pastry & Bakery) programmes for students in Fiji.
In her address, Ms Tang congratulated Pacific TAFE for the state-of-art facility and a simulated training centre for
enthusiastic learners who are interested in pursuing a career in the specialised fields of hospitality operations,
commercial cookery and patisserie.
She said that the Centre both compliments and complements the effort of collective stakeholders in the field of tourism,
in preparing for and addressing the significant tourism growth.
“This Centre is exactly what the market needs – a quality facility for training entry level workforce, and
‘one-stop-shop’ for current industry employees seeking to upskill professional development and career advancement
opportunities,” Ms Tang stated.
She highlighted that THE-ICE and USP have come a long way, and added that “we are proud to be the trusted external
quality assurance partner of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM), in their pursuit of education
excellence since 2010.”
Ms Tang commended the leadership of Professor Rajesh Chandra, Vice-Chancellor and President of USP for his commitment in
the provision of quality education and research, in addressing the changing operating environment and responding to the
needs of the Pacific region.
The Chief Guest encouraged industry partners, government officials, members of non-government organisations and future
learners to take advantage of the qualifications offered through the Nadi Hospitality and Tourism Training Centre.
Professor Chandra said that the Centre will ensure accessibility of hospitality trainings for students and existing
workers in the western division, which boasts majority of tourism activities in Fiji.
What distinguishes USP from other providers in the Pacific is its very strong commitment towards quality.
Professor Chandra highlighted that faculties are growing with accreditations at Bachelors and Postgraduate levels whilst
Pacific TAFE is excelling from levels III to V as per the Fiji Qualifications Framework.
He assured that USP will continue to respond to the capacity building and development of human resources in the Pacific.
With a full commercial kitchen and training restaurant the Nadi Centre will focus on cookery and hospitality. Training
will be practical, hands on and experience based.
Mr Hasmukh Lal, Executive Director of Pacific TAFE said that this training facility is one that the tourism and
hospitality industry in the West deserve.
“In establishing this facility Pacific TAFE is not only supporting on-job training and development among the larger
resorts, but also providing career pathways for young Fijians wanting to enter into an exciting and growing industry,”
Mr Lal emphasised.
He added that tourism and mid-range to luxury hotel market is a rapidly growing market in the west of Fiji and one of
the key constraints identified by Pacific TAFE’s industry partners is trained staff, hence the need to diversify skills
based hospitality programmes in the Western division.
THE-ICE is a highly-regarded international quality assurance (QA) agency with 36 leading TH institutions comprising of higher education institutes, research universities, vocational colleges and private hotel
schools from 15 countries.
Pacific TAFE is also planning to offer Diploma of Culinary Arts and Management and Diploma of Hospitality Management
from 2018.
The Nadi Tourism and Hospitality Training Centre is located in Prime Complex, Commercial St, Namaka, Nadi.
ENDS