The Ministry of Tourism is pleased to announce that Caymanians pursuing degrees in tourism and hospitality related subjects can benefit from a new scholarship opportunity offered by Johnson and Wales University.
The scholarships, which are merit based and range from US$5,000 to US$15,000, were negotiated with the University by Tourism Minister Hon. Moses Kirkconnell and Chief Officer Stran Bodden.

Minister Kirkconnell explained that the rationale for offering the scholarships is because “Our tourism industry has registered consistent growth, particularly over the last three years and is stimulating the development of physical infrastructure, particularly in the areas of accommodations and attractions. As more Hotels come on stream, more tourism related jobs are being created and my Ministry is doing everything possible to ensure that Caymanians have the qualifications and skills to assume those roles.”

See Press Release below:

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (12 Feb, 2016) The Ministry of Tourism is partnering with Johnson & Wales University to offer scholarships to Caymanian students in a range of tourism based subjects.

The merit based scholarships which range from US$5,000 to US$15,000 were negotiated with the University by Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell and Chief Officer Stran Bodden. In order to qualify for the funding, students must meet the faculty’s admissions requirements and have been accepted by the University. The amount of scholarship awarded by the University will be based on the students GPA score whereby:

GPA ranging from 2.25 – 2.74 is eligible to receive US$5,000. GPA ranging from 2.75 – 3.49 is eligible to receive US$10,000 GPA ranging from 3.5 – 4.0 is eligible to receive US$15,000

In light of the new agreement, Ms. Tasmine Coleman, International Admissions Officer at Johnson & Wales’ Miami Campus will be visiting the Cayman Islands early next week. During her visit, Ms. Coleman will have the opportunity to meet with students from the School of Hospitality Studies, as well as others that are currently pursuing hospitality studies in High School.

Expounding on the rationale for offering the scholarships, Tourism Minister Hon. Moses Kirkconnell said “Our tourism industry has registered consistent growth, particularly over the last three years and is stimulating the development of physical infrastructure, particularly in the areas of accommodations and attractions. As more Hotels come on stream, more tourism related jobs are being created and my Ministry is doing everything possible to ensure that Caymanians have the qualifications and skills to assume those roles.”

The Minister continued, “The School of Hospitality Studies at UCCI is doing a great job in helping us to build the academic framework that our young Caymanians need in order to be to be successful in the hospitality sector. This new arrangement with Johnson & Wales is in keeping with that objective and will provide more opportunities and support for Caymanians wishing to pursue a career in tourism,” he said.

Joey Hew, Councillor for Tourism added, “In addition to empowering Caymanians who are keen to establish careers in tourism and hospitality, the goal of these initiatives is to infuse a local face and flavour into our tourism product. All across the Caribbean, visitors are constantly interacting with the locals from the time they arrive, to when they leave, and this is what we would like to see more of happening here.

Founded in 1914, Johnson & Wales University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC-CIHE). The university is well known for its Culinary Arts programme and is the largest food service educator in the world.

END

IMAGE: en.wikipedia.org