Why Collaborate?
The Polytechnics Mauritius Limited is driven by a passion to build sustainable relationships with industry partners, towards achieving success through strategic and innovative partnerships. The synergy created from working in close and continuous collaboration with you will enable us to better understand and respond to your emerging needs, expand our capabilities and ultimately offer you the best solutions.
Our approach to training is about involving industry throughout the educational lifecycle at Polytechnics. From the start, industry participates in stakeholder meetings to help us identify, customize and deliver the programmes right. Shortly after, we invite HR experts to speed-interview our students and give them a true and accurate picture of the demands and expectations of employers. Students join employers in internships, traineeships or shadowing assignments to learn, share and imbibe skills that will make them more competent and attractive. Employers set aside real projects for students so that they get exposed to the real work from Day One.
We also mount innovative research projects with employers that involve staff, students and employees to collaborate and refine ideas, execute on proof of concepts, build prototypes or perform simulation exercises on new products and services. Often times, collaborative projects launched by international organisations and/or Government would require employers to apply in tandem with educational institutions such as Polytechnics Mauritius.
During my externship with Le Sakoa Boutik Hotel, a four plus star hotel situated in Trou aux Biches, composed of a complex of thatched buildings, I was able to develop and expand my communication skills in relation to the team working under pressure. I particularly discovered how actually direct interactions between a service provider and its customers could be very useful in improving customer care skills. Some tasks were indeed quite challenging but this proved to be valuable in deepening my confidence and refining proactive skills. The externship was an intensive experience replete with multiple opportunities involving a lot of observation and learning in four different departments namely, Human Resources, Front Office, Food & Beverage and Spa & Wellness. Moreover, in terms of competencies, I am now better equipped to tie curriculum to real world application and industry needs, to identify the interface between academic cum technical knowledge and workplace situations, to find solutions to contemporary problematic issues and thus to be constantly aligned with professional, ethical values and principles.
Seven days blended learning styles with peer to peer feedback, observation and on-site training enhanced my understanding of a daily operation of a high-end resort and to understand some new aspect around Covid-19 impact on service towards visiting guests. The focus was mainly on the Front Office, Food & Beverage as well as Wellness and Spa. This has helped me to understand their approach as well as the dynamism behind their team. This underlined the fact that at all level, from operation to management, it is a team work and nothing less. My externship will definitely help to build the bridge between skills-based and knowledge-based education. Updating my knowledge and skills about current workplace practices, requirements, and tools by gaining an “on the ground” understanding of the “new normal” within the industry.