Septembers edition of âmeet the teamâ will be a little different from normal.
Recently, we have had many guests asking âwho are the smiling young people on the boats and restaurant?â Each summer, we provide internships to some local teenagers who are studying to enter the hospitality and tourism industry some day. The work placements typically last between two and four months (depending on student age or program) and gives them hands on work experience and feedback from our staff. They also have the chance to attend our free English classes, which is an important language for tourism, and not often one that is taught thoroughly in schools.
The first school we take placements from is the Solagratia Vocational School, based in Tongkaina, North Sulawesi. This school was built to teach students the special skills they will need to work in the tourism industry â once the students graduate, they will have all the necessary skills to jump straight into their chosen career. This school is particulary famous across North Sulawesi, as they have very thorough diving programs aimed at training highly qualified, environmentally focused, and safety conscious dive guides. We have three students from this school, all of which are in the twelfth grade of their Travel & Tourism Industry program. The school also provides scholarships for those who cannot afford the normal school fees.
Apriani Tahapan â Apriani chose to study diving as one day she would like to be a dive guide, but before that, she would like to join and serve in the Indonesian Army. She loves to dive, and is currently a PADI Advanced Open Water diver â her rescue training will come after this internship. She is currently based in the dive centre for her internship.
Inggrit Fotang â Inggrit is passionate about the ocean and all the incredible creatures that live there, and her dream job is to become a dive guide and share her passion with the tourists who want to see the amazing reefs in Bunaken Marine Park and the wider North Sulawesi area. She is also currently PADI Advanced Open Water, and will soon conduct her rescue training alongside Apriani. Inggrit is also currently based in the dive centre.
Rizky Tulusangâ Rizky chose this school because they offer many outdoor activities, and he loves to spend time in the great outdoors. His favourite hobby is cooking, and his dream job in the future is to become a head chef. He is currently based in the housekeeping department.
The other school we are working with this year is Vocational School 3, located in Manado. This school offers a wide range of subjects, but they do work with many students who want to work in the tourism industry. They offer a wide range of internships â although obviously we only offer placements to those studying in the hospitality based subjects. We have three students from this school, all of which are also in the twelfth grade.
Yohanis Sandala â Yohanis loves to sing, and hopes to one day make this into his full time career. He really enjoys working in tourism, especially housekeeping, and hopes that in the future he can work in hotels so he can meet people from all over the world.
Yovan Manderos â Yovan was born to be a chef. He loves everything about food and cooking, and wants to learn as much about the culinary arts as possible. He is currently studying in the culinary department at school, and already knows how to recreate some of Indonesiaâs most famous dishes such as Rendang or Soto Ayam.
Christian Undap â Christian enjoys meeting people from all over the world and learning about their culture. The chance to do this is what inspired him to choose this school, and now he is looking forward to a promising career in tourism.
We have been working closely with these schools (and others) for a few years now, and some of the interns have returned to Siladen Resort and become full time staff members. In the dive centre, we have Sophia, who was two years ago an intern with us from the Solagratia Vocational School, and Jessica in reservations and Jane from front office were both interns from a college that specialised in languages.
