Throughout my career in hotels and attractions, I have contributed to various “management trainee” programs. It was a pleasure and an honor to support these programs to develop management talent. On many occasions, when this program was not available, I encouraged the company to develop these programs and provide the opportunity for young aspiring managers. As mentioned previously, the hospitality industry (hotels, attractions, tourism) continues to grow rapidly and we need to keep up with this pace in developing managers and leaders to manage these businesses.
Results from these management trainee programs varied with some being more successful than others. The success stories came from those who were overwhelmingly supported by management at all levels and in all departments. Many of those “management trainees” went on to take on leadership roles in the company or other companies. It helped to advance their careers. For those less successful, much of it was due to a lack of belief in the program by management. Sadly, many of those used the program only as a means of getting additional labor at a lower price.
Perhaps the most successful management trainee program with my involvement was at Ocean Park. This was led by a very dedicated training manager who believed in the program and believed in the group of trainees. The trainees were highly motivated from the start, eager to have the chance to be in the program, and dedicated themselves to making the program successful. They were engaged in various departments, operations, guest services, maintenance, accounting, personnel and sales, etc. They accepted their training with vigor and took on their responsibilities with tenacity and seriousness. Their feedback was solicited regularly, and they provided excellent comments to enhance the program. They were honest in their evaluation and vocal in identifying the highs and lows. Additionally, they were eager to bring up suggestions for improvement as opposed to just identifying problems and weaknesses. They valued the opportunity to be in the program and understood the brighter future ahead for themselves. They helped to make the program successful.
The management trainee program would not have yielded positive results if the company was not totally behind it. Ocean Park saw the value of the program. It understood the importance of succession planning and developing managers to maintain growth in the park and sustain proper management of the business. Without support from the company at all levels of management, the program would not have succeeded.
I thank the company for its support, and I thank the training team for their devotion to the program. Above all, I thank the trainees for their interest and desire. Their careers continue to grow from strength to strength and I am confident that they credit this to their learning experience as a management trainee at Ocean Park. Some of them continue at the park in leadership management roles and those that moved on have advanced and taken on more responsibility, proving themselves as leaders. I offer my sincere congratulations to all of them.
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