Our Executive General Manager for ahs hospitality, Kylie Maxwell, was in Nepal in November 2019 familarising herself with their new partner, Nepal’s Skill Campus.

The agreement facilitates students from the Skill Campus to work with ahs hospitality as paid interns for 6 months (currently there are a number of students employed by ahs in Queenstown, New Zealand).

These paid internships are providing Nepalese hospitality students with invaluable experiences and opportunities to work in large international 4-5 star hotels. Landing this unique internship allows them to not only gain the hands-on experience required to complete their course, but provides them with the unique opportunity to work abroad.

The first intake of students started with ahs hospitality in June 2019, providing great benefits both for students and ahs hospitality.

Kylie spoke more on this partnership in an interview for a local Nepalese Newspaper. We have since had this article translated, please scroll down to read the interview in full.

Why did you come to Nepal?

I have been running ahs hospitality across Australia and New Zealand for a long time. During this time, we built a good relationship with the Skill Campus in Nepal. Through these ties we were able to develop a paid internship program and today proudly employ Skill Campus students through our New Zealand team. I made the decision to visit Nepal so I could learn more about the students, the campus, and the environment that our interns begin building the foundations of their industry knowledge. Plus, I get to experience Nepal first-hand, an added bonus.

How did you find Nepal’s hospitality?

Very welcoming, I am very happy to be here. The Skill Campus has also been very welcoming and I am impressed with the quality of education from the Skill Campus. While this was already evident from the strong performance of students who have joined our New Zealand team, touring the campus provided further insight into the Campus’ offerings.

What is the benefit of completing an internship overseas compared to in Nepal?

Gaining experience in abroad provides an opportunity for students to test their hospitality skills and knowledge under different conditions than they are used to. This internship is just one part of a student’s hospitality course, but by completing it overseas students show they are capable of operating within an international market in the future.

It is always good for students to travel to foreign countries, like New Zealand and Australia, and learn more about foreign nations and their hospitality industry.

By inserting themselves in a foreign environment they open themselves to learning new industry skills, life skills and gaining experience within a foreign nation’s work culture. Accordingly, it is important to experience how different countries and different hotels operate.

New Zealand and Australia are also host to a larger supply of international hotels, providing students with an opportunity to build their skills to a world class standard. They can bring what they have learnt back and apply it in Nepal, or utilise their new skillset in hotels overseas.

What new plans do you have in pipeline?

The tourism industry is constantly evolving and growing. We plan to increase our intake of students from the Skill Campus, fostering a stronger partnership. The students we have employed through Skill Campus have exhibited a hardworking mentality and friendly approach. I now view this as a common mindset among Nepalese people after meeting the warm locals on this trip.

At ahs hospitality we have seen how this positive attitude results in a positive experience for guests. We anticipate a bright future not only for our current interns, but for future students of Skill Campus that strive for hospitality experience abroad.

And your last thoughts?

Nepal is very beautiful, the potential for growth within the tourism industry is very high here. In my opinion, studies around hotel management are very valuable in Nepal. I highly praise Skill Campus’ work in providing comprehensive education and training in hotel management. Lastly, based on this trip, I intend to provide more opportunities for Nepalese students to gain internships with ahs hospitality and study abroad.