The Failte Ireland Trainee Management Development Programme has been elevated to Degree status and will now be delivered by Tralee IT.

The announcement was made yesterday by Sean O'Malley, manager of Education Operations at Failte Ireland during  a graduation ceremony for 18 trainee managers.

One of the students, Matti Reuter, from Germany, trained at the Clarion Hotel in Sligo, was awarded ‘Graduate of the Year 2011’ for his academic achievements and his contribution to the hotel over the past three years.

The programme provides an ideal platform for people who want to kick start their career within tourism and is a recognised distance education route to training as a hotel manager.  Students complete three years of rigorous on-the-job training and academic studies in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) whilst employed in a hotel. The programme is a collaboration between Fáilte Ireland, the Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI), the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT).

Sean O’Malley, Manager of Education Operations, Fáilte Ireland, said:

“We are delighted to announce that the TMDP has reached an exciting new milestone in its 23 year history, having produced over 500 graduates, many of whom are in senior management positions in hotels nationally and internationally. The programme has now been completely reviewed and validated as a three-year Bachelor of Arts Degree in Hotel Management and will be delivered in the Institute of Technology Tralee in February of this year, in partnership with approved hotels and the Irish Hotel Federation.  Tralee Institute of Technology are currently taking applications for the new Degree level TMDP and hotels are encouraged to nominate Trainee Managers for the programme.

We, in Fáilte Ireland, are confident that the skills of these eighteen TMDP graduates will make a valuable contribution to the industry, helping it sustain a truly professional and progressive workforce, comparable with the best in the world. ”