Cooks in training...

STUDENTS in the Hospitality and Tourism component of Government’s Multi-Sector Training (MuST) programme are getting valuable hands-on experience as trainees at the new Breakfast Shed on Wrightson Road.

Hospitality instructor Philma Browne, who is overseeing the programme, said it was intended to provide the students with on-the-job training in cooking and food preparation. On successful completion, they will receive certificates, she revealed.

“There are 16 trainees based here at the Breakfast Shed,” Browne explained.

“What they will get from this programme is certification through the Trinidad and Tobago National Vocational Qualification Scheme.”

Browne said the trainees are supplied with basic tools and equipment, as well as the personal protective gear they require as apprentice cooks. They are also covered under an insurance agreement.

The trainees are required to work six days on-site and one day off-site per week.

On days that they work off-site, they are taken to the Barataria Regional Complex where they are taught life and numeracy skills. Any problems encountered during the week are also discussed and dealt with.

The trainees are paid a small stipend of $60 a day.

“When we came here we allowed each contractor to choose which people they wanted to work with them. There are three larger kitchens here at the Shed, so they each have three persons while the five smaller kitchens have two people or one person each.

“Sometimes we have a person who mans the floor from time to time who takes up the dishes and trays for the various contractors.”

One of the trainees, Heshla Joseph, described the programme as “very interesting.”

“I learned a lot of things like how to cook different dishes. Also, I got different experiences and the chance to meet different people. I plan on opening my own business in Morvant in which I will be cooking Creole food.”

Abeni Atiba, another trainee, also has plans to open her own business. She said as a result of her involvement in the programme she has developed a new skill — making unique combinations of fruit and vegetable punches.

She said: “I think the programme is good. I learned new things like making new vegetable drinks and new punches. We make a combination of celery and carrot, and once I made a channa punch, something I had never heard of before.

“After this course, I plan to further my studies. I want to go to hotel school and one day have my own business. Without this course, things would have been a lot different.”