These 19 women are
standing on a stairway
inside North Vancouver’s
Coach House. They
inspected the hotel, set up
banquets and deep
cleaned the premises as
part of their ESL/
Hospitality course taken at
Capilano College.

Coach Gets

Free Overhaul from
College Students

apilano College students and

Coach House Inn staff and
management recently entered into a
partnership that was beneficial to both.
Nineteen students descended on the
hotel for a one-week work experience
in the housekeeping department. The
all-women class is taking an 18-week
ESL/Hospitality Skills Program
funded by Human Resources
Development Canada and offered by
the Contract Services department of
Capilano College.

Program managers Lynne Moran
and Denis Catroun arranged the work
experience with hotel manager Jack
Zydel. “Jack was enthusiastic about the

idea from the start and very generous
with his time,” says Lynne.

The students were in the middle of
a two-week section on housekeeping
skills when they went to the Coach
House. They learned how to do room
inspections, set up for banquets and
do deep cleaning of the hotel. “It was
a win-win situation,” says Lynne.
“The hotel got its drapes cleaned,
carpets shampooed and mattresses
turned, while the students got
firsthand experience in a working
hotel.”

By the end of the week, many of
the women felt that they could
actually do the job, notes Lynne, and

“it gave them a self-confidence they
didn’t have before.” In turn, Jack was
thrilled with the work done by the
Capilano College students and
rewarded them with a luncheon on the
last day.

Before enroling in this program, all
19 women were employment insurance
recipients, and most were also former
members of UNITE, Union of
Needletrades, Industrial and Textile
Employees.

This program not only teaches them
hospitality skills, they are given ESL
training by faculty member, Mae Lee
Ling. The ESL component focuses on
workplace language, both written and
spoken, that must be understood in
order to do the job. Upon completion of
the theory section of this program,
students will participate in a three-week
practicum in a variety of hospitality-
related positions.

“Watching the women develop their
skills and see their confidence grow
daily is truly fantastic,” says Lynne.

Submitted by Lauren Mulholland

@nformer