The 2010 winners of Arabella Starwood's annual Shining Star Programme include two staff members from The Westin Grand Cape Town, two staff members from the Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa, three staff members from the Sheraton Pretoria, and one from Blaauwklippen Wine Estate.
The Shining Star Programme is organised through the Arabella Centre of Excellence, which as part of the group's skills-development plan, provides educational and training initiatives in the hospitality industry for employees, young people, and the previously disadvantaged. All candidates going on the trip have been selected by their peers for their hard work, team spirit and commitment to excellence.
Arabella Starwood's COO, Friedrich Schaefer, said: "It is wonderful to see staff participants' increased levels of motivation and commitment as a result of the Shining Star Programme. The trip recognises the outstanding achievement by members of our service staff and supports our ongoing plan to develop future leaders for our business. It is even more gratifying that they have been recognised and chosen by their fellow employees."
Arabella Starwood human resource director, Heineke Brand, said: "We have many staff whom we train and whose skills we develop in order to advance their careers. What is exciting about this programme and the trip is that it allows the winners an opportunity to learn at a top international hospitality school, an opportunity that they may otherwise not have had. Many have never travelled abroad before this. Hopefully, they will broaden their horizons, learn and share it with others."
The Shining Star Programme was established five years ago and is run on the basis of a finalist being selected each month by management and co-workers across the group's hospitality units, culminating in a final announcement every year of the winners for the 12 months, from April to March. Winners receive three weeks of intensive training in Switzerland at the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality, which allows each student to gain guided experiential hotel training as well as theoretical studies in beverages, microbiology, food and beverage service, cuisine, and Swiss Hotel & Tourism.
