The British Council has entered an agreement with Serena Hotels to offer English courses specifically in hospitality. Over 200 students from five schools and approximately 400 staff members of Serena Hotel Rwanda will benefit from the two-year programme.

The institutions to benefit from the programme are Rwanda Tourism College (RTUC), Akilah Institute, New Hope Technical Institute, Kigali Catering Centre and Esther’s Aid.

"The programme will give opportunities to locally identified talent to develop strong hospitality foundation. Each college will nominate a student every three months to participate in a quarterly internship programme,” Catherine Waruhiu, Serena Hotels Human Resource Director, said.

"As Rwanda develops economically, there will be demand for people who are skilled, which is in line with the EDPRS2 , because the more skilled you get the better the governance,” said  Albert Nsengiyumva, the State Minister in charge of Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

He added that the programme will also benefit Rwanda’s dynamic hospitality industry by identifying, monitoring and developing young people from selected hospitality institutions and working with students from hospitality colleges,” he said.

He encouraged students to seize the opportunity. 

"Skills development cannot easily be acquired, but the more the country grows, the more the skills are improved so we need people who are skilled,” he added.

The programme will be sponsored by Serena Hotels in collaboration with DEG the investment arm of Federal Republic of Germany to enhance skills. 

The training will be conducted by Lobster Ink, a South African Firm that specialised in training staff in Africa’s finest hotels.

Serena Hotels operate a portfolio of 24 hotels, Safari camps Lodge, and resorts in different countries.