Training people in the hospitality industry through an institution she built from scratch
By Alesia Edwards
Lornal
ee Nation grew up in very humble beginnings in the small rural community of Flamstead in Hanover. She was always very smart and she knew from very early that she wanted to excel in life and help improve the lives of others.
Her journey towards owning her own business, a skill and vocational training center in the resort town of Ocho Rios in St. Ann, has not been easy. However, her fighting spirit and hunger for success has pushed to the top.
Today, College of Hospitality and Vocational Training Center, has grown from having 16 students in a very cramped space to over 150 students enrolled at a more spacious location in Pineapple, Ocho Rios, offering several training courses in a number of specialties in the hospitality industry.
Like most successful entrepreneurs, Ms. Nation’s success did not fall like manna from heaven; she has had to work hard and push herself towards success and overcome many challenges. Probably one of the challenging was the death of her mother when she was only 12 years old. The effect of her mother’s death was devastating and it also meant she had to relocate to live with her older sibling in St. Elizabeth.
“At that time I was attending Frome Secondary. I was always coming first place in my class. My brother, who was a Police Officer at the time, realized that I had some potential and decided to take me to live with him in St. Elizabeth after which I gained a place at the St. Elizabeth Technical High School,” she explained.
“This was when I was really challenged by my brother who was a “perfectionist”.. I did well in school never coming less than third in my class. I did my CXC and was successful in five subjects,” she added.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Ms. Nation explained to the North Coast Times that she later left St. Elizabeth for Kingston, there she lived and worked for many years. During that time she also enrolled in a number of institutions including the Institute of Management and Production and obtained training and certification in a several areas including business management. She also holds a degree in hotel and restaurant management.
Prior to getting the courage to branch out on her own and start her business, her years of working in the business sector helped to groom her into becoming that professional that she is today. Those experiences included: as an executive secretary at the Elim Agricultural School in St. Elizabeth ; Public Relations Limited, up to junior account executive and at the Caribbean Agriculturalist magazine.
Her experience in public relations provided the platform for her work as a freelance PR and marketing executive, at several hotels on the North Coast. It was during that time that she became more acutely aware
of the need for specialized training in the different skill areas. Thus she began thinking about how she could help to fill that gap. Her experience, volunteering and working in the tourism sector had benefits still useful today. “The experience empowered me, I was able to gain practical knowledge of all training areas and also to handle conflicts and meet customer needs… I am now able to relate to all areas of training. The exposure allows me to know exactly what is expected of my instructors and able to evaluate their performance to satisfy my customers (learners) so that they can perform competently in the labour force.”
A START
She then set out to provide training for persons seeking employment in the hospitality industry. Ms. Nation and a business partner started the Hotelympia , which they later moved to Tower Isle in St. Mary.
Ms. Nation had high hopes for that institution and when it failed to reach the desired standard she was forced to break away from that partnership and start her own school and this gave birth to College of Hospitality and Vocational Skills in 2002.
Looking back at her life and the struggles she has had to encounter, Ms. Nation is happy with the growth, success and quality students that she and her team have been able to produce over the years.
She explained that the institution which is accredited by HEART/Trust NTA is also seeking to offer higher level training and this is in response to the recent upgrading of HEART Runaway Bay to college status.
“HEART/Trust has now moved to another level, we have moved from level one to level two and we are looking now as to how we can move to level three so as our partners climb we look at how we too can move,” she explained.
The school has also expanded to having a second location in Montego Bay St. James and is a satellite location for some City and Guilds courses in health care. She stated that all courses are certified by HEART NTA and courses are offered in allied health care assistant, food and beverage, food preparation, hospitality services, crop production and landscaping, front office operations, bartending, cosmetology and massage therapy. There is also home health aide course and training in tour guide will commence next month.
Prior to starting her business, Ms. Nation explained that she was very active in the Jaycees movement (Jamaica Junior Chamber) and she said it was through that movement where she started her leadership skills development.
“I was a vice president for the St. Andrew Junior Chamber and secretary general for the Jamaica Junior Chamber and the West Indies Jamaica Junior Chamber. I implemented a number of training projects during my tenure,” she explained. She initiated and was involved in several outreach and charity projects. Her involvement in that movement landed her the prestigious ‘Jaycees of the Year Award’ for two consecutive years for the St. Andrew Junior Jaycees and as secretary general she also travelled to several Caribbean islands as part of the president’s delegation.
Her involvement in the Jaycees movement also helped to strengthen her passion for community development. She explained that she has embarked on a community initiative where over 150 persons from the community of Steer Town have received training at her institution. The programme is also in place in the Flower Hill community in St. James.Ms Nation has also taken that community spirit and community development to her church, Faith Restoration in Mammee Bay where she is a missionary.
“My main role is to implement programs to empower members, evangelize and teach, teach Sunday school, moderate services, implement programmes for the growth and development of all the departments and assist with church administration,” she explained. Ms Nation explained to The Times that a lot of her time and energy, even time for leisure is spent focusing on the continued growth and development of her business. “Leisure time for me is minimal, so when I do take holidays, I would visit the other parishes. I enjoy stopping at restaurants and jerk huts and eating different types of food, just to experience the taste and culture of my country,” she continued. “When I travel abroad, the experience has two objectives: one is to shop and experience the culture and two, to observe different best practices to enhance my business objective.” She added: “I like gardening but most of my spare time is used alone reviewing strategies for promotions, I enjoy public relation and marketing.”Ms. Nation explained too that based on her interaction with young people she is very optimistic about the future of Jamaica adding that the country needs more young people with fresh ideas and new vision.
Even while she sees a bright future for the country she explained that she is very concerned about the way the country’s leaders handle situations that have to do with the well-being of the poor and needy.
“We need to be frank about the current state of our country and realize that the blame game is not working; our party leaders should think about building the country and use the most competent persons to do so. No longer can we say, we are “politicians”, we must now say we are builders of our nation.” Ms. Nation has one son and has been caring for her niece whom she has schooled and who is now a part of her business.
