Best of the Maldives: Family Business – Nika

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Nika - Giampiero Bellazzi

Happy Father’s Day.

The “resort father” has to be Nika’s, Giampiero Bellazzi. In 1983, he took over the island that had 10 villas on it. But a resort couldn’t survive on that number so when Bellazi took over, he built more but based on the original design concept. Now his daughter Giovanna now runs it the resort as one of the truest veterans in the industry there as she grew up with the Nika resort.

My own father is a big fan of the sun. When we lived on the west coast of the USA, one of my few memories of that earliest age (pre-school) was waking up to the top of the hill to watch the sunset. Later in life we moved to the east coast in the seaside town of Ipswich, Massachusetts and watching the sunrise at the famous Crane Beach was a regular ritual for him. We wrote a small book of quotations, “Days Alive”, illustrated with an animated sun passing across the sky and celebrating the blessings of every day. For years growing up, the tradition has been to give him a card with a sunrise on it and sometimes some curious sun curio as a present. And in 2000, we were able to give him the ultimate sun gift of a trip to Conrad Maldives Rangali for a week.

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Best of the Maldives: Hospitality Accreditation – Anantara

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Anantara - accreditation program

Labour Day in the USA this week heralds the end of the summer breaks and back to work or to school. Or with Anantara’s new Explorer Programme…both.

They say 90% of learning takes place outside the classroom. But who’s to know just how much of what you have learned? How does it map to the key competencies of the role? Well, Anantara has combined a apprentice-like vocational programme with a certification process. This provides the candidate with the most versatility in moving to different career-progressing roles both across Maldives resorts and even overseas. Anantara announced at its June inauguration…

“The launch of Explorer, a new vocational hotel training programme, which the group has chosen to roll out in the Maldives. The modern and technically progressive progamme is the first to be accredited with international certification. It highlights MHG as a pioneering employer in the ASEAN region within vocational education that addresses the needs of the Millennial generation…Young people need opportunities to learn, but often this needs to be combined with the ability to earn a living at the same time and such opportunities are often limited or unavailable. Explorer is accredited with international certification from Australia, a leader in the field of vocational education. Successful completion is awarded with a hospitality Certificate III qualification that provides the foundation for continued learning to progress towards a Certificate IV, and ultimately a Diploma in Hospitality. The opportunity has been extended to both young internal hotel candidates and external school leaver participants who combine training with real-time remunerated work experience. MHG has also made a significant investment in high quality coaches, who have been developed internally to international accredited standards so that they can share their knowledge and leadership skills with the programme participants. Each Explorer Trainee will be provided with a tablet allowing them access to the online learning platform that complements classroom training, ensuring a fully integrated learning experience. Upon completion they will have learnt new skills and gained experience and confidence in themselves and in an industry that contributes significantly to the well-being of the Maldivian economy.”

Accreditation, coaching, technology – a tropical cocktail of success for many talented and ambitious Maldivians.

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Best of the Maldives: Employees Choice Employer – W Retreat

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Maldives Resort Workers top employers study

“W” is for “Worker” on today’s International Worker Day. And in the Maldives,”W” – as in ‘W Retreat’ – is for workers too. According to the definitive source, the Maldives Resort Workers themselves…

“MRW congratulates W Maldives for being the best employer in 2012 and urge other resorts to make a fair attempt to get the title of the best employer in 2013. For most of the resorts, it’s just a matter of coming clean through accounts to give a fair distribution of service charge to the staff, which is by law entitled to staff.”

This ‘Best of the Maldives’ accolade was actually already awarded to W Retreat back when Maldives Complete first started in 2009. But this updated and comprehensive survey provides both quantitative validation and fresh recognition for W Retreat’s enduring focus on this area.

Today’s post has also prompted the addition of yet another Category tag for the site – ‘Management’ (which is actually a bit of a pet subject for me).

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Best of the Maldives: Veteran Manager – Adaaran Hudhuranfushi

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Asim Mohamed Hudhuranfushi GM
Asim Mohamed on right from his Flickr photostream

For Mohamed Asim, it is not just a job, not just posting, not just a career, not even a passion…it is his life. He is not only one of the few Maldivian native GMs, but he is definitely the first one still serving.

He doesn’t just ‘manage’ the property, he lives it. He surfs the Lohi surf break. He dives. He has his own Flickr stream with nearly 100 images to share his avid photography documenting so many facets of Maldive life and Adaaran Hudhuranfushi highlights. He first cut his teeth in ‘food and beverage’ operation when he entered the Maldive tourism industry in its earliest days so he even mixes it up in the resort kitchen from time to time.

Asim has decades of experience and despite numerous assignments and bountiful opportunity to travel and work just about anywhere in the world, he can think of no better place to be than the Maldives. I can think of no better legacy of the Maldives increasingly proud and world leading tourism industry.

Happy Birthday Asim!

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Best of the Maldives: Apprenticeships – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

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Sir Alan Sugar The Apprentice

“You’re hired!”

Sir Alan is not the only one appointing new apprentices.  Four Seasons, both Landaa Giraavaru and Kuda Huraa properties, sponsor an ambitious programme of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) certified apprenticeships

39 Maldivians are enrolled in the Class of 2011 aged 16-20 years with O-Level certifications. The programme was founded in in 2009 by Armando Kraenzlin, GM Landa Giraavaru who commented…

“Apprentices are paid a stipend and given room and board while in the programme. Instructors come from the management team, as well as from out side the resort. For instance, the Boat Mechanics module is taught by someone from Maritime College in Colombo, and is intense hand-on course. Other topics outside of operations include English and Math. Regular resort employees are mixed in with the apprentices so that the spirit of camaraderie and collaboration so critical to Four Seasons has an opportunity to flourish and grow. The programme works: one 2003 graduate is now an assistant department head, a position that would have seemed unattainable at one time.”

When I visited in November, a number of staff at both resorts proudly commented about the programme unsolicited.  My wife and I remember that when we first came over a decade ago, many staff at resorts were from far away countries and only got to see their families a few times a year.  But, the folks we spoke to in November recounted going home nearly every week on their days off and spending time with family having picnics, and playing beach football with friends.   But to top it off, Landaa Giraavaru also sponsors a couple of work experience student/researchers in marine biology and its top class research and visitor centre.

Four Seasons Apprenticeship programme

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Best of the Maldives: Employer – W Resort

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W Resort

A common refrain in the chorus of praises sung about the Maldives spotlight the wonderful warm people that welcome them and make the stay delightful. A great resort is a one which nurtures this natural resource of human warmth and hospitality by treating its resort employees as respectfully as the guests would hope to be treated. The resort which stands out in this regard according to the Maldives jobs website Jobs Maldives is the W Resort…

“’Talents’ are what the W Hotels call their employees. This not only encompasses the skill set needed to work at a luxury hotel, but it also speaks of the individual personalities that portray the “Warmth of Cool”…Though the island is small there are several opportunities provided for the talent: W Lifestyle and Language training, Talent-of-the-Month award ceremonies, Trips to Male, Cultural excursions, fishing trips, BBQs, sport competitions with other islands, monthly birthday parties and a newly finished sport court for soccer, basketball, badminton and volleyball. Says guest Gina Johnson from Dubai, ‘You can just tell how happy, genuine and informed the staff are. You see that they take a lot of pride in their work.’”

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