The students during the educational visit in Metrotown yesterday.
Leizerovici
KOTA KINABALU: Undergraduate students in Hospitality and Hotel Management in Sabah now have more job opportunities here as the general manager of Novotel Kota Kinabalu, Jacques Leizerovici, is reserving positions in his hotel chain to Sabahans.
Leizerovici commented that local graduates should be given priority when it came to employment, especially in new hotels in the state.
He said this yesterday during an educational visit organized by Novotel Kota Kinabalu 1Borneo to 23 students from Ascot Academy at the construction site of Mercure Kota Kinabalu Eton, which is set to open August at Metrotown Kolombong.
The 70 per cent completed new hotel which will be a four-star-hotel with 100 rooms, three restaurants and its own parking lot, is expected to hire over 80 employees to manage the hotel.
“As a hotelier, we are glad to be able to contribute to the local community by educating these students in hospitality and provide early exposure in hotel openings. We are the first international hotel to be conducting such visits,” Leizerovici added.
He also said Novotel had a fantastic partnership with Ascot Academy in terms of student education and training and the visit yesterday was one of the activities that they had organized to give Ascot Academy a preview in opening a hotel.
The group of students from the Hospitality Front Office course was led by Abdul Razak Egoh, chief executive officer of Ascott Academy, and was welcomed by Leizerovici himself at the site who briefed them about hotel openings and were given a guided tour by the Novotel Hotel staff.
At the same event, Leizerovici revealed that the opening of the hotel at Metrotown Kolombong would be followed by another hotel launching soon near Jesselton Point, here.
He then commented that the opening of new hotels was to meet the demand of the growing number of visitors to the state.