Browns Hotels & Resorts supports students within local communities with Hospitality Training Program

Browns Hotels & Resorts Group General Manager Eksath Wijeratne, Browns Hotels & Resorts Group Training Manager Deepal Gamage and Berendina Employment Centre (Guarantee) General Manager Hemantha Harischandra, with the first batch of students

Browns Hotels & Resorts is the leisure subsidiary of the Browns Group which is today one of Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerates. Browns Hotels & Resorts and the Berendina Employment Centre (Guarantee) Ltd. has come together to implement a Craft Level Course in Hospitality. This program will be conducted in the English medium by way of classroom sessions, while the practical lessons will be carried out in the respective departments located in the four hotels operated under Browns Hotels & Resorts. The official launch of the training program was held recently at the Eden Resort & Spa in Beruwela with the participation of the senior management team of Browns Hotels & Resorts and Berendina Employment Centre (Gte) Ltd., the students, parents, and well-wishers.

Currently, Browns Hotels & Resorts operates four spectacular properties which comprises of The Eden Resort & Spa in Beruwela, Dickwella Resort & Spa in Dickwella, The Calm Resort & Spa in Passikudah and The Paradise Resort & Spa in Dambulla. The company has exciting new plans to launch many new properties including the Turtle Beach Resort in Kosgoda as well as with many expansions in the Maldives. 

Browns Hotels & Resorts one of Sri Lanka’s pioneers in the hospitality industry has reached great heights over the decades. The key reason for its success is the excellent relationship it has nurtured with the communities in which it operates. The company has recognised the local community as an important stakeholder of its development strategy. With the expected revival of the industry in the near future, BHR foresees a rapid increase in the need for quality, high calibre staff to service the rising demand of the industry.

The Berendina Employment Centre (Guarantee) Ltd. and Browns Hotels & Resorts have thus come forward to introduce a three-month training program. 20 students successfully followed the initial craft level course at the centre. The students who were shortlisted were mainly from the Eastern Province of the country while some others were from the distant suburban regions of the island.

Students who are selected for this course are provided with meals and lodging facilities throughout the course period along with the academic and practical sessions. 

Berendina Employment Centre (Guarantee) Ltd. is a non-profit, service and development organisation operated under Berendina Development Services (BDS) which currently works in six districts, spread over fourteen Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the rural areas to assist the vulnerable and marginalised communities. The Berendina Employment Centre (BEC) commenced its activities in the year 2000 with the objective of finding suitable and productive employment opportunities for youth in rural and plantation areas as well as to assist employers to find suitable employees at a minimal cost. 

The Group Training Manager Deepal Gamage of Browns Hotels & Resorts, the keen initiator of this project stated, “I am truly pleased to see the enthusiasm and the potential of the first batch of students. I am sure they will excel in this growing and ever evolving industry and I am confident that this training program too will reach great heights.” 

Hemantha Harischandra, General Manager of Berendina Employment Centre (Guarantee) Ltd. addressing the gathering said, “We are indeed very happy to support the tourism industry by sustaining the youth in remote areas of Sri Lanka – especially to help them find suitable career openings through this kind of programs.”