Hospitality and tourism students from British Columbia gained some valuable workplace experience in Banff last week, and who knows, maybe they’ll be back in town soon.
About 30 international students, mainly from China, enrolled in Victoria’s Royal Roads University’s international hotel management program rolled up their sleeves, and saw what Banff’s primary industry had to offer.
The experience was made possible through a partnership with the Banff Lake Louise Hospitality Association (BLLHA) – a first in offering a multi-day, hands-on opportunity to a group of undergrad students.
“In this trip, we can have training in the hotels, we can experience different departments, and we can know how to cooperate with each other,” said Alex Tong, a second year student. “So because I got an internship at a hotel in Victoria (for third year), I hope I can gain some practical experience here.”
Travelling from Victoria to Alberta, the students are participating in various roles and are being exposed to an international tourism destination.
Some of the Banff industries taking part are the Rundlestone Lodge, Banff Park Lodge, Bow View Lodge and Homestead Inn, Rimrock Resort Hotel, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and the Banff and Lake Louise Tourism Visitor Information Centres.
At the end, the hotel and tourism partners will have the opportunity to recruit the undergrad students in a job fair.
As a guy once in the shoes of these students, Trevor Long, incumbent BLLHA president and general manager at Rimrock, can relate to moving to a tourism destination like Banff National Park to pursue a career in hospitality and tourism.
“The incredible thing about the hospitality industry is you have the entire world to choose from,” said Long, in front of the students on Tuesday (March 28).
“One thing I can assure you of, if you choose Banff or Lake Louise, whether it’s six months or for 25 plus years, the opportunities you have, the experiences you gain …you will never, ever regret coming to Banff and Lake Louise.”
Bow Valley businesses are too familiar with the difficulty of filling roles in the hospitality sector, particularly over the past few years, when park visitation levels have shot up.
According to the Job Resource Centre’s Bow Valley Labour Market Review for spring 2017, it received 1,226 job orders (for a total of 2,810 positions) from 287 Bow Valley employers from August 2016 to January 2017.
That number was down 4.5 per cent from a year prior.
The largest occupational demand in Banff/Canmore was in food and beverage at 19.3 per cent, followed by sales and services at 16.6 per cent.
The demand for front line servers in food and beverage was 13. 9 per cent, and housekeeping and cleaning was at 10.1 per cent.
About 50 per cent of Banff’s population is in the 18-35 year old range, whom a large portion have started careers in hospitality and tourism in Banff, said Town of Banff Councillor Chip Olver, on Tuesday.
“You’re going to discover that the town’s only economy is hospitality and tourism,” said Olver. “Its primary purpose is to provide outstanding visitor services to nearly four million people each year.”
