EHTL : an optimistic start to the new school year

Faced with the health crisis that is shaking the planet, the Horeca and tourism sectors have obviously not been spared. However, despite the economic gloom, the EHTL remains confident and has chosen to place the start of the 2020/2021 school year under the sign of optimism.

During the meeting with each of the new classes, the Director, Mr Lanners, stressed the importance of the hospitality professions: a professional and warm welcome for customers, impeccable behaviour, organisational and managerial skills and taking initiative are all skills that pupils and students have the opportunity to develop throughout their studies and which will guarantee their employability on the job market. Their diploma will open doors for them far beyond the catering, hotel and tourism sectors. And then, even if today no one can predict the evolution of the pandemic, there is reason to hope for an upturn and economic recovery.

In the meantime, future “new customer specialists” are strongly advised to be ambitious, curious and self-demanding, as the EHTL’s leitmotif, Striving for Excellence, daily encourages them to be, regardless of the training path they choose. Indeed, from the CCP to the BTS, it is important to give the best of oneself, and even to surpass oneself in order to always aim higher. In fact, the path taken by learners can be compared to that of a mountaineer climbing a mountain: the longer and more difficult the climb, the greater the satisfaction not only of having reached the summit, but also of being able to measure the distance covered and the efforts made to reach it. The financial aspect is not to be neglected either. A recent study by STATEC clearly shows that the salary increases by more than a third for each additional level of education: the average gross annual salary is 53,904 euros for those with a secondary school diploma, compared with 81,446 euros for those with a bachelor’s degree.

For the time being, the aim was to get to know a new working environment and to get acquainted with it: welcome by the class teachers, presentation of the school charter, information sessions concerning the regulatory dress code and all the practical aspects inherent to the school, activities with the SePAS, distribution of iPads and workshops for an efficient and responsible use of the IT tool. From their first steps, new pupils and students were able to realise the specificity of the EHTL and to measure the chance of finding themselves in spacious classrooms where the maximum number of learners is 15.

Although the school organisation has undergone some changes due to the current situation, the EHTL is once again this place of learning and development for the 300 or so pupils and students who have decided to train in the field of customer service. On the project side, the school’s determination and commitment remain intact: participation in the Dubai World Expo, creation of a mini-company to promote olive oil and other EHTL-stamped products, implementation of a new blended learning experience to foster the autonomy of pupils and students.