There is strong interest in securing potential jobs in the hospitality sector if the turnout at a “Foot in the Door” event in Killarney last week is anything to go by. The event organised by South Kerry Skillnet was aimed at providing people with an interest in taking up employment in the sector with information as to the types of jobs and opportunities available. In addition, those attending were informed as to the possible training opportunities that are available to them in order to develop relevant skills. Speakers at the event held in the Killarney Plaza Hotel included representatives from the industry as well as the training sector and those present were also addressed by a recent Skillnet training programme graduate Sam Donnelly from Killarney. Attendees were also given demonstrations in some of the key basic skills required by employees in the hospitality sector.
South Kerry Skillnet Manager Aoife O’Reilly said she was delighted with the turnout and the interest being shown by jobseekers in hospitality sector given there is strong demand within the sector for employees with the right skills. “All of the recent graduates on our Skillnet training course secured jobs and some of the employers who attended this Foot in the Door event had jobs available for people who had relevant skills” Aoife said. She added that she would like to thank all of the speakers at the event.
One of those who have secured employment following the Skillnet Training course, Sam Donnelly said that he would recommend such a training course to anyone. “To be honest, I was not really interested when I started out on the course but as it went on I really started to enjoy it”. “It gave me the chance to learn a lot of new skills such as bar tendering and it also showed me that there are real chances to go on and get new skills to develop a career in the sector” Sam said. He added that he now hopes to get further education and training while continuing to work so that he can go on and further his career in the hotel sector in particular.
Aoife O’Reilly added that they hoped to run further training courses either later this year or early next year given the strong demand for staff.
