With the founding of a vocational school more than 20 years ago, Talitha Kumi is one of the pioneers of dual vocational training in Palestine. At the hotel management school, high school graduates can complete a two-year college program culminating in a state-administered exam to qualify for careers in the hotel and restaurant profession.
In addition to the college program—which is equivalent to a dual vocational training program in Germany—the Hotel Management School also offers one-year vocational training courses leading to a state-recognized certificate. Through these courses, we successfully train students who would otherwise have no chance of securing an apprenticeship or a job elsewhere. The goal of the Hotel Management School is to give trainees the opportunity to successfully establish themselves in the tourism sector. To achieve this, our trainees are encouraged to discover and develop their skills and talents. In recent years, we have expanded our range of one-year courses to include programs in the field of marketing.
Practical experience in hotels and restaurants in the Bethlehem region
Qualified instructors from the hospitality sector prepare young adults for their final exams according to new training curricula. Admission to the college programs requires a high school diploma. In addition to theoretical instruction, there is a strong emphasis on practical training in the teaching kitchen at our guesthouse, with which the hotel management school works closely. The aspiring chefs and other hospitality professionals also gain practical experience at other guesthouses, hotels, and restaurants in the Bethlehem region. To ensure quality, the hotel management school maintains exchanges with colleges, vocational schools, and training companies in the West Bank as well as abroad. A particularly close partnership exists with the Hotel Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Haus and the Evangelical Educational Center in Schwanenwerder in Berlin. As part of this cooperation, many students have already completed internships there.
College Programs and Certificate Courses at the Hotel Management School
The Hotel Management School offers two college programs: Hotel Management and Culinary Arts. The programs include courses such as economics, marketing, communication, accounting, food science, hygiene, information technology, as well as German and English. Students complete their programs with a state-recognized diploma.
We offer one-year vocational training courses in the fields of cooking, sustainable agriculture, hotel management, e-marketing, pastry and desserts, e-commerce, and graphic design. Trainees in the culinary arts are introduced to both traditional Arabic cuisine and international cuisine.
Contact
Talitha Kumi Community College
Laurette Abu Jaber, Dean
P.O. Box 7
Beit Jala, Palestine
Tel: +972-2-2741247
Fax: +972-2-2741847
Email: laurette.a@talithakumi.org