Emperors Palace hosted learners from Thembisa Commerce and Entrepreneurship School of Specialisation with a focus on hospitality and tourism (formerly Thembisa Secondary School), allowing them to participate in a two-day job shadowing learnership programme on October 3.
The 20 Grade 10 learners were exposed to the hospitality and tourism industries first-hand and gained valuable insight into how such a large hospitality complex runs daily.
This programme is part of the ongoing partnership between Emperors Palace and the Thembisa school to grow future talent in the industry.
The job shadowing included helping seasoned Emperors Palace staff in hotel housekeeping and handling basic kitchen tasks under the casino complex’s chefs, one of whom was executive chef André Bezuidenhout of Boksburg.
With tourism again on the rise, this vocation is vital in the SA hospitality industry and can open career paths locally and abroad.
It was an enlightening experience for the group, and seeing the theory translated into practice was an eye-opener for the learners and their teachers.
“It was a good experience for the learners,” said teacher Nonhlanhla Nxumalo.
Learner Sfiso Timande said, “How the Emperors Palace staff treat people is interesting. It is great. After this experience, I want to go into this industry.”
“It was exciting seeing something in reality, and I learnt the difference between à la carte [food you order as separate items rather than part of a set meal] and table d’hôte [a menu with multi-course meals with multiple options for each course at a fixed total price],” said educator Lesiba Khoza
“I learnt that the hospitality industry is a bit challenging, and the Emperors Palace is a lot bigger than I expected,” said learner Jabulani Mamize.
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