The International Hotel School (IHS), Africa’s Leading Hotel School is proud to announce the merger of Uniskills Africa into the company to form the new IHS Training Division. This new division will be headed up by Uniskills Africa managing director, Stuart Blackburn and his team.

The merger has come about due to the expansion plans for IHS to not only provide exceptional hospitality education to those leaving school, but to also offer outstanding hospitality training to every level of hospitality employee, nationwide.

IHS’s new Training Division offers internationally accredited in-depth training courses aimed at improving and developing skills of current industry employees and then benchmarking them through their internationally recognised certification programmes. Courses are certified offering graduates not only the confidence and skills to move forward in their careers, but also offering employers a chance to invest in their staff and ultimately in their businesses. 

CEO of IHS, Mike Lambert, is clear in his vision for the company – to be able to offer an education and training solution to everyone interested in joining the industry, as well as to those who are keen to up-skill and improve their growth and development within our industry, and match their skills against their respective international counterparts.

“Uniskills’ track record as a leader in hospitality training speaks for itself,” says Lambert. “They are a natural fit for our standards and levels of service excellence. Hospitality is one of the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic fields of employment, with positive trends forecasted for the coming years. Travel & Tourism worldwide is expected to grow by 4% per annum between 2013 and 2023. With this in mind, it’s imperative that South Africans have access to a specialist hospitality training solution, so that our industry has the qualified personnel to offer a great experience here in South Africa or abroad. As part of the strategic objectives for IHS, we feel that we have achieved a very unique offering with the merger of Uniskills, as we are now able to offer not only solid hospitality education, but exceptional training and skills development under one umbrella.”

The new training division is flexible in its approach to training delivery, offering group training solutions and tailor-made training packages. “Never before has a hospitality education and training solution been so widely available and easy to access in South Africa. IHS’s footprint in South Africa and Africa is exceptional. The Training Division aims to improve this footprint by offering unique and certified training solutions to all industry players,” says Blackburn. 

Blackburn adds, “It’s a very exciting time to be in the hospitality industry, and we’re here to make a valuable difference by offering ongoing training and development to span the career or lifetime of hospitality individuals. Improve your own skills or improve the skills of your employees – either way, the benefits of training have a very positive impact on any company’s bottom line.”

For more information, visit www.hotelschool.co.za or phone 031 536 6650.