WorkStart students enjoy a taste of hospitality

Kingston WorkStart students enjoyed a taste of the careers available in the hospitality industry at the luxurious Richmond Hill Hotel. The day started with an introduction to the different departments and roles undertaken by staff at the hotel. These ranged from housekeeping to maintenance, the restaurant and bar, as well as reservations, events and sales.

Next up was a practical demonstration on how to lay a perfect place setting including checking glasses and cutlery were clean and shiny. The students threw themselves into the task enthusiastically and were soon racing to fold a napkin to exact proportions. They learnt that it was not just about speed but also about folding the napkin precisely to ensure it was the optimum size for the place setting.

Students then had a chance to sample the delicious food on offer at the hotel with a buffet lunch of sandwiches, wraps, crisps, popcorn and fruit.

After lunch the group were taken into one of the hotel’s luxury bedrooms and watched a demonstration of how to make a hotel-standard bed. Once again the students all got stuck into smoothing down the sheets and putting pillows into pillowcases to create an immaculate bed for guests. There was also time to check out the bathroom and other facilities in the bedroom.

We are incredibly grateful to the staff at the hotel for making the students so welcome for the day and giving them a fantastic introduction to careers in the hospitality sector.