Kenya Utalii College to revise its academic curriculum to mitigate Covid-19 effects
Nakuru County chief executive member for Trade and Tourism Francis Mwangi (left) hands a certificate to a participant during the graduation ceremony of hotel workers who attended refresher courses conducted by Kenya Utalii College in Nakuru City on April 8, 2022.
Kenya Utalii College will revise its academic curriculum to stay afloat in the industry following the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the hospitality industry.
The Principal and chief executive officer Charles Musyoki said this review will help the college to meet the needs of the industry expectations by producing well-qualified personnel to deal with the post-pandemic times.
"The industry is recovering and we hope to reclaim our position as the leading contributor to national Gross Domestic Product by producing competent professionals to suit the changing trends in the critical sector that has been hit hard by the pandemic," said Prof Musyoki.
Prof Musyoki revealed that the college had engaged stakeholders saying "very soon we are going to invite you to a symposium to discuss, ratify and validate the curriculum."
He added:" We're tapping into stakeholders and industry players to give input as they are best placed to tell us how we should design our training programmes, practical modules and packages for students to be more effective and competent in what they do."
New skills
He announced that the college will also focus on equipping the trainees with new skills so that they could be at par with the proposed new curriculum.
He was speaking in Nakuru City on Friday during the graduation of 197 hotel workers. The refresher course attracted participants from Central Rift, Mara region and Uganda.
Prof Musyoki announced that the government has plans to transform Kenya Utalii College into a centre of excellence. He said the institution will work closely with other stakeholders for mutual benefit.
"We're also looking at our business model to enhance our revenue base and we hope this will have a positive bearing in the industry. We will introduce more programmes to meet the increasing demand," said Prof Musyoki.
Prof Musyoki noted that this is the first refresher course since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paradigm shift
“We must continuously improve the way we deliver our services. Our clients have various needs, expectations and aspirations," he added.
"We are in a new environment as a result of the pandemic and this means a total paradigm shift, we must not operate the way we used to do before Covid-19 hit us," he added.
He urged the graduands to conduct themselves responsibly.
The refresher course, which began on March 28, included food and beverage courses, housekeeping techniques, basic supervisory skills, customer care, health cuisine, social studies and basic legal studies.
The courses were held at Hotel Kunste, Nuru Palace, Legacy Hotel and Suites, Kivu Hotel, Merica Hotel, Bontana and Lanet Batian Resort.
