Case Study

Egyptian Cascade Training Model(For Hospitality Workforce Development)

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Document: Letter received from His Excellence, Mr. Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism.

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For the past sixty years, the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI), the non-profit education and training arm of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), has diligently worked with several different partners globally to develop several regions to their full hospitality workforce potential.

With a keen eye to the future, AHLEI works with government entities, including workforce agencies, prison programs, hotels, clubs, casinos, cruise lines, academia, USA military branches, and private sectors, in delivering new project initiatives that address the training and education demands in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

The talent and diversity of our professional staff members is a source of pride. With both the professional skills and in-depth knowledge, our approach is to research, evaluate, select and implement preferred solutions by drawing on our core competencies in areas such as hospitality learning and training solutions, professional certification, and marketing promotion and development.

The expertise and experience that AHLEI has gained in 60 years has been distilled into a pragmatic approach that can assist countries in expanding their hospitality and tourism standards, thus impacting their regional development and economic integration.

This case study was written in collaboration by Elizabeth Johnson, Senior Public Relations & Marketing Manager, and Ed Kastli, Vice President of International Sales. Edited by Brenda L. Vazquez, Senior Vice President of Marketing, and Yana Keyzerman, Instructional Designer. It was prepared using company information, interviews, and factual numbers; and its intention was to provide material for training and class discussion through publication. AHLEI conducted interviews with instrumental officers behind the success of this project within the Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF), AHLEI’s Master Licensee in Egypt: Mr. Husein Badran, Counselor of The Minister of Tourism & ETF for Human Resources Development & Training, and Mr. Ossama Gamal AboulNour, CHT, Deputy Director Human Resources Development & Training & Studies.

Photo from left to right: Ossama Gamal Aboulnour, Deputy Director, Egyptian Tourism Federation; Mr. Husein Badran, Counselor of the Minister of Tourism; and Mr. Ed Kastli, Vice President of International Sales, Educational Institute

Disclaimer. This case is written solely for educational purposes and is not intended to represent successful or unsuccessful managerial decision making. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a workforce development and/or training and learning situation.

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Large-Scale Hospitality TrainingCase Study: Egyptian Cascade Model

Summary The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) has successfully

implemented what is now referred to as the “Egyptian Cascade Model” of training hotel workers in several countries. This model evolved from a hospitality training project, originally funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2002 in partnership with AHLEI’s master licensee, the Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF) in Egypt, and was designed to produce a qualified workforce for the Egyptian hotel and tourism industry.

Using this proven technique, AHLEI works with area hospitality organizations to identify and train a select group of master trainers, who earn the Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT®) designation. These trainers in turn train department trainers, who earn either the Certified Hospitality Department Trainer (CHDT®) designation or the Certified Hospitality Supervisor (CHS®) designation. Professionals in both of these groups then train line-level workers at local hotel sites. In this way, training “cascades” through all levels of a hospitality organization, ensuring a continuum of consistent, measurable training. This training approach generates local workforce development skills and provides sustainable training with both immediate and long-term results for the local hospitality community.

This document will outline the history of the program in Egypt, the rationale behind the training model, the challenges and obstacles encountered, and the components required to implement the model successfully in other areas.

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Originally funded by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in 2002 in partnership with the ETF, with $3 million,, this hospitality training project was designed to develop a qualified workforce for the Egyptian hotel and tourism industry.

The main purpose of the project was to enhance the international competitiveness of the Egyptian hotel industry by providing a quality, focused training and certification program for hotel owners and/or managers, developed by AHLEI.

ETF, through its Human Resources Development & Training Unit, selected 20 individuals with hotel backgrounds to become master trainers. These trainers had experience in front desk operations, food and beverage operations, and housekeeping. The master trainers attended a workshop delivered by AHLEI master trainers from the US and went through the CHT® program in three days.

They then were taken through the CHDT® program and line-level skills guide program (three-day program), which they would be delivering to department trainers from selected properties.

The department trainers then in turn delivered the line-level training to the employees at their property in three areas: front desk, food & beverage server, and housekeeper.

The Hospitality Training Cascade Model in EgyptThe following resources were used for training:

• CHT® instructor material and study guides for the master trainers.

• CHDT® instructor materials for the master trainers to learn the instruction for training the department trainers.

• Skills guides for training the line-level employees; master trainers were introduced to the skills guide programs and were instructed to incorporate the programs into the train the trainer program for the department trainers.

• Supervisory Skill Builders workbooks were used to develop quality supervisors.

When the programs were completed, the supervisors had the option of applying for the CHS® or CHDT® certification after meeting the qualifying time. Line-level employees were also given the opportunity to achieve the respective line-level certification.

During the first phase, 2002-2007, the cascade model was used to train the following number of hospitality professionals:

• 20 Master Trainers (CHT®)

• 500 Department Trainers (CHDT®)

• 8000 Line-level Employees

ETF has mandated and enforced the cascade training model to the hospitality industry in Egypt, and hotels now have to book ahead of time to train their staff. Since its inception, the training program has grown and expanded to include thousands of hospitality employees.

The hospitality training project was designed to develop a qualified workforce for the Egyptian hotel and tourism industry.

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Key Training Pieces to the Cascade Model The cascade model is built around several of the American Hotel & Lodging

Educational Institute’s professional certifications, which are awarded to hospitality professionals who meet certain time in position qualifications and pass a proctored examination. With the cascade training model, local trainers are selected to go through the top-level CHT® program and are then responsible for training the next levels of staff.

Property Trainer

Front Desk Trainer

Front DeskRepresentative

Front Desk Representative

GuestroomAttendant

GuestroomAttendant

RestaurantServer

RestaurantServer

Housekeeping Trainer Food & Beverage Trainer

CHT®

CHDT®

Line-Level

Program participation has grown over the past decade to:

Phase 1August 2002 to March 2004

July 2005 to May 2007

9,755 participants

16,094 participants

Phase 2June 2007 to July 2012

August 2012 to December 2014*

80,486 participants

32,934 participants

Since 2002, ETF has developed 139,269 line-level employees, and 3,194 CHDTs using the Educational Institute’s programs.*

The program was very successful from the beginning as hotels started experience the difference compared to before and after the training. Customer service standards in all hospitality areas were elevated considerably, and by 2010 Egypt was the most competitive country in Africa in terms of global tourism with 14 million international tourists (up from 5.5 million tourists in 2000) and generating 13.6 billion dollars in 2010 (up from 2.9 billion dollars in 1998); the travel and tourism sector employing 12% of Egypt’s workforce.

*As of December 31, 2014.

Since 2002, ETF has trained 139,269 line-level employees, and 3,194 CHDTs using AHLEI programs.

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With the cascade training model, local trainers are selected to go through the top-level CHT®

program and are then responsible for training the next levels of staff.

Certified Hospitality Trainer

(CHT®) The Certified Hospitality Trainer designation recognizes and validates the knowledge and skills possessed by property-level training executives or directors, or department heads at a hospitality company. Successful candidates demonstrate mastery of training concepts such as instructional design, assessing training needs, measuring and evaluating training, mentoring, hourly employee orientation, and management development and executive education.

Certified Hospitality Department Trainer

(CHDT®) Property trainers can’t be everywhere. It is important that each department have its own trainers who can deliver targeted functional skills training within their particular area of responsibility. Successful department trainers must have effective communication tech-niques as well as knowledge of practical skills.

Certified Hospitality Supervisor (CHS®) Line-level employees are often promoted to supervisory positions because they show an understanding of the many skills needed to keep a shift or department functioning smoothly. Supervisory job skills may include: scheduling, training, interviewing, disciplining, inspecting, and conducting performance reviews; making decisions and judgment calls while performing daily duties; and providing input on hiring and firing decisions within a department.

Line-Level Training and Certification Hospitality skills certification for hospitality employees brings the professional clout of AHLEI’s certification programs to the people who are on the frontlines with guests. AHLEI offers designations for those who work in food and bever-age, guest service, and housekeeping positions. Assessing skills and knowledge and recognizing employee achievement through certification builds confidence and encourages employees to make hospitality a career.

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Regional Mobile Trainers

Phase 1 introduced the “cascade training” method, which was delivered as a pilot for the training process, and introduced to 3 governorates.

Phase 2 relied on developing 49 regional mobile trainers who were able to reach 12 more governorates.

During Phase 2, the Human Resources Development and Training unit of the ETF developed other programs to serve other ranks in the Egyptian hospitality and sectors. 89,065 trainees received other national and international certificates in other programs.

Phase 1 Phase 2

Funded by USAID Government Funded

$3 Million $15 Million

Egyptian Tourism Federation Trainers

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Challenges for Egyptian Hospitality and Tourism Education

According to ETF, challenges stemming from governmental policies concerning education and training made it difficult for individuals to get the training they needed to prepare for careers in hospitality. These included: deficiency and inadequacy of educational outputs, incompatible education and tourism structures, and maldistribution of tourism education and training providers. Other difficulties included:

• absence of a national skills development system

• absence of training awareness at the national level

• absence of a workforce accreditation system

• young people’s avoidance of the sector due to distorted cultural beliefs

• adaptation of linear instead of cluster development plans

Other challenges stemmed from tourism sector policies, such as:

• inadequacy of the current workforce due to long halt in training

• absence of training awareness at the corporate and operational level

• weakness of training capacity of tourism establishments

• investors’ lack of participation in education and training projects, particularly in remote governorates

• labor instability due to high turnover

• employment of unqualified employees to cut costs

Before the cascade training program began, there was almost no training available for lodging and tourism. Eight-five percent of properties were not conducting in-house training, and there was a void in the teaching of skills to new employees. In addition, limited budgets made it difficult for individual properties to develop and deliver their own programs. There was a need for a high quality, cost effective, public-private partnership to take the lead in making hospitality training a priority.

Quality of service has risen—there are fewer guest complaints, lower turnover, and higher revenue for properties.

Success through Partnership and Collaboration The Tourism Training Council partnership

model features collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism, ETF, the ETF Human Resources Development and Training Section, AHLEI, Cornell University, AmidEast, International Development Ireland Limited (IDI), and local consultants and trainers.

The cascade training model using AHLEI’s training and certification programs was one key program aimed at workforce skills development. Other projects and programs undertaken by the Tourism Training Council included apprenticeship programs, higher education reform, training centers of excellence, and a National Skills Standards Project (NSSP) focusing on four tourism clusters (hotel services, food and beverage service, food production, and inbound tourism).

The ETF worked closely with the Ministry of Tourism to recruit for the program and to help

reinforce that this project would result in positive outcomes for hospitality organizations.

To deliver the program, the country was divided into four regions, with each region under the supervision of an inspector. Processes included:

• Foundation of tourism educational and training centers correlated with number of inhabitants in labor-exporting governorates

• Coordination of efforts with the sectorial tourism committee to change tourism education from supply driven to demand driven

• Coordination of efforts with faculties and institutes to develop outputs that match labor market needs

Photo from left to right: Mr. Joseph A. McInerney, former President of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), Mr. Hisham Zaazou, Tourism Minister of Egypt, Ms. Brenda L. Vazquez, Senior Vice President of Marketing, American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute,, and Mr. Ed Kastli, AHLEI Vice President of International Sales, American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute.

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Egyptian hospitality training efforts have also focused on upgrading professional skills for hospitality and tourism sector employees through:

• implementation of comprehensive training programs for all employments levels in all 12 tourism governorates

• building training capacities of tourism establishments

• use of available training capacities and upgrading their outputs

• cooperation with international education and training bodies (AHLEI, Cornell, IDI)

• encouraging private training providers to participate in the national training process

• motivating tourism businesses to invest in education and training

Over the past decade, implementation of the cascade training model created a very positive image for the Egyptian hospitality industry. There has been an upgrade in the quality of practical, on-the-job training in hotels. Quality of service has risen—there are fewer guest complaints, lower turnover, and higher revenue for properties. The program ensures that employees acquire needed competencies and skills, with a focus on quality.

Initial reluctance and wariness about the training model gave way as hotels found that the program delivered highly-qualified people who were able to perform in jobs at top-level properties such as IHG, Four Seasons, and Sheraton. Now there is a waiting list of properties who want to participate. The key to this positive image of the program is working with reputable associations, using solid materials, and getting cooperation throughout the process, which leads to positive results.

The scalability of this program can be adapted to the training needs of any hotel, group of hotels, country or region.

Globalizing the Egyptian Cascade Model of Hospitality TrainingSince its implementation in Egypt, AHLEI has introduced the cascade model in Armenia, Albania, Palestine, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Colombia, and the Caribbean’s through the Organization of American States (OAS).

The scalability of this program can be adapted to the training needs of any hotel, group of hotels, country or region. AHLEI can assist with the implementation of this training model through collaboration with area hospitality associations, governmental agencies, and ministries of tourism, academic institutions, or other workforce development bodies.

For further information, contact the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute’s international sales division at internationalsales@ahla.com, or call +1 407 999 8100.

WWW.AHLEI.ORG

FLORIDA800 N. MAGNOLIA AVENUE, SUITE 300ORLANDO, FL 32803 USAPHONE: +1 407 999 8100FAX: +1 407 236 7848

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The Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF) expanded the program to include the following line-level skills and positions:

• Front Office Skills Development

• Food & Beverage Skills Development

• Food Safety (HACCP)

• Housekeeping Skills Development

• Stewarding Skills Development

• Hospitality Leadership Skills Development

• Lodging Security Officer

Upon completion of the course, employees receive a certificate of completion.

Expanded Program