Fourteen Gozitan students were recently presented with their respective certificates of achievement by Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono to mark the successful completion of the two-year ESTS Hospitality Apprenticeship Programme offered by the Institute of Tourism Studies in Gozo in Food Preparation and Production, and Food and Beverage Service. The ceremony took place at the ministry in Victoria.

Full-time courses in the above subjects were offered by the Institute of Tourism Studies for the first time in Gozo in 1996 but were discontinued the following year. They were offered once again in October 1998 and have been held uninterruptedly since then.

Speaking during the presentation ceremony, Mrs Debono highlighted the need for more qualified workers to be engaged in the hospitality, catering and tourism industry. Minister Debono said that the government is investing heavily in this sector not only through the provision of more academic courses but also through the construction of a new campus to accommodate the Institute for Tourism Studies in Qala.

This infrastructural project is being co-financed through the Structural Funds Programme for Malta 2004-2006 and involves an investment of e1.5 million. The new facility will provide the necessary infrastructure and amenities for quality training in tourism-related services in Gozo, allowing also for the offering of new courses that up to now are not available on the island.

The new training centre, works on which are at an advanced stage, will include a restaurant and bar facilities, a fully equipped advanced training kitchen as well as an individual food preparation and cooking training laboratory, a reception foyer, a computer training laboratory, classrooms, a laundry room, a hostel with 8 bedrooms together with the necessary housekeeping facilities.

In the last two years, 140 Gozitan students successfully completed courses held by the Institute of Tourism Studies and the Employment and Training Corporation (Gozo) through funds obtained by the Gozo Ministry under the European Social Fund. A number of the courses on offer were held for the first time in Gozo.