Hospitality Skills Camp encourages Dream Development for Grade 9/10 Students
Posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2016
Algonquin College’s Academic Partnerships team welcomed students from four Ottawa high schools to their annual hospitality camp held on February 16-19.
For the past five years, the camp has sought to provide a two-day introduction to the hospitality field through a curriculum-driven, experiential approach.
The two-day skills camps feature hands-on learning under the guidance of college chefs Harsh Singh and Scott Foeller as well as the manager of Restaurant International, James Waller. For many students in attendance, it was their first exposure to the hospitality industry.
The grade 9 and 10 students were split into two groups: one prepared a full meal in the kitchen and bakery, while the other learned the ins and outs of serving, including setting a proper table, working with the restaurant manager and preparing drinks. The two groups switched tasks the next day.
Students listed carrying trays and plates, how to hold a knife and cut properly, how to cut pasta strips and making bread from scratch among the new learning techniques acquired through the camp.
After sitting down in Restaurant International to enjoy the product of their labour, one hundred per cent of students in attendance highly recommended the camp, while just under half of the students are considering going to college to study the culinary arts.
“It’s about taking some time in grade 9 and 10 to give some thought to that dreaded question from your parents, ‘what do you want to do for the rest of your adult lives?’ Am I interested in this thing called hospitality?”
– Jeremy McQuigge
Manager, Academic Partnerships
Joseph, a Notre Dame high school student who attended the camp, is considering studying entrepreneurship with a tie-in to the culinary field.
“My brothers want to open a bakery next to the gym we want to open,” said Joseph. “So I might take a culinary course, too.”
Fellow Notre Dame student, Kiara, considered herself likely to attend the college for baking.
“I like how you can form pretty much anything out of pretty much any dough,” said Kiara.
Algonquin’s School of Hospitality and Tourism also offers summer camps for students interested in a longer and more in-depth exposure.
“It’s about taking some time in grade 9 and 10 to give some thought to that dreaded question from your parents, ‘what do you want to do for the rest of your adult lives?’” said Jeremy McQuigge, manager of Academic Partnerships at the college.
“Am I interested in this thing called hospitality? Whether that’s in the kitchen, in service, in beverage, in tourism. It could be in the economics of those things or the marketing of those things. There is agriculture that ties into that, and distribution. You’re just seeing today a small component of what our school of hospitality and tourism embraces.”
The students were also encouraged to use their experience at the camp on their resumes when pursuing jobs in the hospitality field.
The Academic Partnerships team at the college offers a dual credit program with an emphasis on “pathway exploration.” There are currently 24 high school students taking a “culinary fundamentals” course at the college as a way to gain a head start on their culinary careers.
Beyond the hospitality field, the dual credit program at Algonquin offers a wide variety of different course options to high school students looking to embark on a pathway to post-secondary studies.
The program developed out of policy initiatives by the provincial government starting in 2004 that aimed at combating a growing high school dropout rate. With the support of the Academic Partnerships team, the program allows grade 11 and 12 students to simultaneously earn a college and high school credit by taking a class at Algonquin one day a week.
About Academic Partnerships:
Pathway Building since 2006. Academic Partnerships works with a comprehensive network of Pathway Builders (community, educational and government stakeholders) to create and deliver on a variety of experiential opportunities to be a college student through hands-on, curriculum-driven experiences for Pathway Explorers (students in grade 7 – 12). With a commitment to the dream development and pathway finding for students prior to starting full-time studies the team has programming at Algonquin College’s three Ontario Campuses: Ottawa, Pembroke, and Perth. For more information visit: algonquincollege.com/ap
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