The college, which offers courses in management, IT and tourism development, serves the Kingdom’s expanding tourism industry.
Caroline Stevens, Hilton’s VP for Human Resources in the Middle East and Africa, said the hotel group, first established in the Kingdom in Madinah in 1995, had until now operated well drawing on available Saudi candidates.
However, the group was entering a huge expansion phase over the next few years and were planning long-term by actively looking for Saudis to train and take up new positions that would soon become available.
“We are looking for about 6,000 people. It doesn’t make sense to ship so many people and there are localization targets we want to exceed, so we need to start now to develop Saudi talent to take on these jobs,” said Stevens. She said that the Hilton group supported the community it worked in and Monday’s contact with the college was driven by the need to put extra emphasis on developing its workforce.
“The only way to do that is to start our own university or see what is locally available and dovetail into the local infrastructure.”
She observed that the Jeddah Hilton had done very well taking on Saudi staff –- likewise in Madinah and Makkah. “There has been sufficient local talent for growth and the retention rate of staff is high. For the long term we have to have a structured plan so that when we open hotels in 2012/2013, we have sufficiently qualified people.”
The group, she noted, needed graduates for management positions but it also had to take on people with a vocational background to ensure it had frontline team members to look after guests.
Stevens felt there was work to be done in selecting the right candidates with suitable family, religious and cultural perspectives for the hospitality industry.
“I think we have enough experience now to know where Saudi people feel comfortable in the hotel’s structure,” she said.
She said the reaction to the college visit was very encouraging, with a great deal of interest from students.
“Conversations with the dean opened opportunities for the college to handle the academic side and Hilton the practical side and internships,” she said.
The key to entering the hospitality sector was, Stevens noted, having the right personality and passion to create a positive experience for guests.
“It’s not about being a servant at all, but about serving a guest to make their experience positive and memorable and it takes passion, humility and sincerity,” she said.
The Hilton team also visited Effat University to present hotel and hospitality industry opportunities for women.