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(Hong Kong – 27 July 2009) The first class of youth trainees under the pilot “Ocean Park Theme Park F&B Services Trainee Programme” graduated today in compelling style. The graduation was greeted with cheering and congratulations from Ocean Park mascots, as well as representatives from partner organisations, the Labour Department, which runs the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme (YWETS), the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre (HITDC) of the VTC, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) and Ocean Park. Three trainees with outstanding performance were also recognised at the graduation.
The “Ocean Park Theme Park F&B Services Trainee Programme” is another one of Ocean Park’s many ongoing social initiatives to use the Park’s available resources to reach out to the community. Launched in May 2008, the programme aims to enable 25 young people between 15 to 24 years old to go through nine months of on-the-job training with the Park’s Food & Beverage Operations Department. For this particular socially-based programme, Ocean Park has invested close to HK$3 million to pay for wages, the HITDC courses and other staff benefits to the participants.
(For details of the “Ocean Park Theme Park F&B Services Trainee Programme” and the respective roles of each of the partner organisations, please refer to the Fact Sheet)
The graduation ceremony was attended by Ocean Park Chief Executive, Mr Tom Mehrmann, Mr. KK Chan, Programme Director for the Labour Department’s YWETS, Ms Amy Fung, Deputy Director for HKFYG, and Mr. Lawrence Wong, Director of HITDC. The event took place at Ocean Park’s newest F&B establishment, Panda Café. Sixteen graduates received their Certificate of Attendance. The three trainees with outstanding achievement were Mr. Zero Chan, who was awarded the “Outstanding Trainee” award, Ms Janet Chan, who received the “Best Academic Student” award, and Ms Tiffany Tong, whose development was duly recognised with the “Best Progress” Award. Four Ocean Park mentors assigned to the trainees were also acknowledged at the ceremony.
Ocean Park’s Mr. Mehrmann said, “We would like to congratulate the graduates for coming through with flying colours! We’d also like to thank our partners – the Labour Department, the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre, and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups – as well as the dedication of our mentoring staff - for their unflinching support, which is the foundation for the programme’s success. Young people are the future of Hong Kong, and Ocean Park is pleased to be an active participant of this meaningful venture. This enables us to creatively make use of Ocean Park’s resources that are unique to operating in a theme park environment, to nurture our youth, and to give them a chance to find their life’s vocation and directions. This is part of Ocean Park’s continuous quest to engage with the community.”
Mr. Mehrmann continued, “We are very pleased that 16 out of the original 25 trainees are graduating, and of these, seven have chosen to continue to grow with Ocean Park. We understand the rest have left, or will leave us, to pursue their life’s goals in other ways. Some are furthering their studies, while some were able to, or will, start a new career. We wish everybody the best of luck for great success ahead.”
The second series of “Ocean Park Theme Park F&B Services Trainee Programme” was launched in June 2009, and a new class of 25 young people will begin in end August, an exciting new chapter as Ocean Park’s F&B trainees.
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