Skyline College’s fairly new Hospitality and Tourism Management Program is available to enroll for in fall of 2015.

“Development of a local program here at Skyline College started almost about 8 or 9 months ago,” said Andrea Vizenor, director of retail, hospitality and tourism at Skyline.

“Initially, what we had to do was develop the courses through curriculum approval so they could be taught here as part of the newly developed HTM program,” Vizenor said. “So the behind the scenes work happens first and we’re now in our second semester of offering four courses as part of the program.”

Additionally, this summer there will also be the Hotel and Restaurant Leadership Institute, a four-week hospitality and food service training experience at Skyline. It begins on June 1 and ends on June 25, with classes Monday through Thursday, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“We’re excited to offer the Hotel and Restaurant Leadership Institute, which is a very condensed program that allows students who are interested in this particular career pathway to come spend four weeks and gain a lot of very critical skills that will help them get into the industry, but also on their way into the certificate program or the associate degree program that we are developing here at Skyline,” Vizenor said.

What this means for anybody who enrolls is that they will receive a few achievements at the end of the Institute. The first accomplishments of anyone in the program will receive 4.5 units that pathway into short skills certificates and the one or two year Hospitality and Tourism Management programs at Skyline. Also, anyone enrolled will receive the potential to earn three industry recognized certifications and high quality skills to build their resume. Along with these, there will also be the opportunity to participate in a four-week (unpaid) internship at SFO Airport Hotel as a co-op experience.

Funding is available to students of Mexican heritage.

“This particular institute was made possible through some funding through the Mexican consulate,” Vizenor said. “So students of the Mexican heritage can participate at no cost. Books, registration, everything is covered.”

For anyone whose expenses aren’t covered, the unit cost is about $146 and the textbook is about $100, amounting to approximately $250, but the certifications and the other materials like the field trip are covered through the program’s grant.

Applications are available on this website: http://www.bayregionrht.com/hotel-and-restaurant-leadership-institute-application-page/