The education sector in Sri Lanka as well as globally suffered immensely with the onset of the pandemic and many educational institutes found ways to continue conducting their educational programs remotely.
When it comes to the hospitality sector in Sri Lanka, Win-Stone Hotel School was one of the first to conduct lectures online for their students and ensured that their students’ learning process continued smoothly without any hindrance.
Win-stone was founded by Iyanthi Goonewardene, who is the institute’s Managing Director and also happens to be the nation’s first female Executive Chef. Win-Stone Hotel School offers a range of National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) courses and are affiliated with a number of foreign institutes in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada for instance. These partnerships enable Sri Lankan students to either enrol and complete their programs locally or they can opt to complete their fundamental programs in Sri Lanka and travel abroad for the final leg of their respective programs.
At Win-Stone, which currently offers courses to over 250 students, offers certificate level courses in aspects of cookery, bakery etc. The institute also offers a one-year diploma course and advanced diplomas that can be completed in one year and eight months.
The advantage of pursuing a qualification through Win-Stone is that students can receive a more interactive learning approach due to the level of attention each student receives and the class limits they set, with attending to a class of no more than 25 students in one sitting to help maintain standards.
Hotel school students can therefore, also be able to complete a course such as the advanced diploma, which would be completed at a stretch, thus helping the student to become qualified swiftly and easily experience a smooth transition to a career of their choice with the institute’s support. Win-Stone Hotel School also has a recruitment arm which supports graduate students apply for jobs aboard some of the world’s most popular cruise ships and companies such as AIDA, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises.
Managing Directress Iyanthi Goonewardene said, “We are very optimistic about the future of the industry and believe that we Sri Lankans, are very resilient. Even during a pandemic, we managed to get past the bigger hurdles and I am sure that things for the industry will get back to normal very soon.”
She also encouraged more young women to join the industry and assured that no matter what misconceptions parents might have about the industry, it is a very satisfying profession to be in and the work environment is very well-protected. She also expressed her gratitude to Win-Stone Hotel School Director, Jagath Perera who influenced her goal of starting the school, when she noticed a lack of awareness about the industry and work involved.
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