Students in Holland College's Hotel and Restaurant Management program will have another tool in their job-hunting kit when they graduate, with the recent introduction of emerit Occupational Knowledge Certificate to the Food and Beverage Service course.

emerit Professional Certification, which was developed by the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) in collaboration with industry professionals from across Canada, recognizes that an individual has met or exceeded national standards of knowledge, skill, and attitude in their chosen field. The Occupational Knowledge Certificate is nationally recognized and is issued to individuals who have successfully challenged the emerit national exam. It is the first of three stages toward becoming a Tourism Certified Professional. The remaining stages include experience in the field and successfully passing a performance evaluation of their skills.

The Hotel and Restaurant Management program has included emerit resources in the curriculum for many years, but now the Occupational Knowledge exam is included, giving graduating students the emerit certificate, which is credit towards emerit certification, explained Gary Torraville, program coordinator.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for us to provide a nationally recognized certificate to our students, providing a value-added element to what we teach. It is also recognized by employers from coast to coast, so it's an additional tool that students can use to market themselves to prospective employers," he said.

The emerit program is administered on the Island by the Tourism Industry Association of PEI and TIAPEI has a strong partnership with Holland College, says Rod Clark, emerit marketing coordinator.

"It is very exciting to see the Hotel and Restaurant Management program has now incorporated the emerit Occupational Knowledge Certificate. We look forward to working together with Holland College, adding more and more national recognition tools to the excellent program offerings," he said.

In this picture: Rod Clark (left), marketing coordinator for the Tourism and Industry Association of PEI presents first year Hotel and Restaurant Management student Miles Kinnee with his emerit Occupational Knowledge Certificate while program coordinator Gary Torraville looks on. Holland College recently incorporated emerit certification into the Hotel and Restaurant Management program.