Infotep and Asonahores promote alliance to strengthen technical training in tourism and gastronomy

Mirabal Sisters.- The National Institute for Technical and Vocational Training (Infotep) and the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (Asonahores) began talks to develop a strategic alliance aimed at strengthening the skills of human talent and responding to the new demands of the country’s tourism and gastronomy sector. The meeting was led by the Director of Business Competitiveness of Infotep, Rayza Pichardo, along with the regional director Cibao Nordeste, Fernelys Berigüete Otaño, and the regional deputy director, Cristobalina Medina, who received the executive vice president of Asonahores, Aguie Lendor, at the Hermanas Mirabal Technological Center. Aguie Lendor explained that the main objective of the visit was to advance in the construction of a joint agenda that allows strengthening the teaching processes and adapting them to the new trends of the tourism and gastronomic industry. He indicated that one of the initiatives contemplates the selection of five training centers that will serve as reference spaces to evaluate teaching methods, identify opportunities for improvement, and adapt training to the challenges of the future.

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Likewise, it was indicated that Asonahores plans to integrate hotels and restaurants into retraining programs aimed at Infotep facilitators, so that they can directly learn about the new dynamics, trends, and demands of the sector.

“In the case of the Hermanas Mirabal Technology Center, our interest is to create an innovation kitchen that becomes a national benchmark driven by joint effort, where creativity, innovation and new trends in haute cuisine converge,” he expressed.

Another of the proposals presented consists of the creation of a job linkage platform for Infotep graduates, under a model similar to a professional employment network, which allows connecting the trained talent with hotel and gastronomic companies interested in hiring. Lendor also highlighted the potential of the Hermanas Mirabal Technological Center to become a national benchmark for innovation applied to gastronomy. During the meeting, the authorities exchanged proposals aimed at strengthening the link between technical-professional training and the real needs of the tourism industry, through initiatives focused on innovation, curriculum updating, and employability. Rayza Pichardo valued the approach as an opportunity to consolidate collaboration mechanisms that contribute to strengthening business competitiveness and developing specialized human capital for tourism. Meanwhile, Fernelys Berigüete explained the institutional procedures required to formalize this type of alliance and highlighted that, by instructions of the general director of Infotep, Maira Morla Pineda, all the necessary facilities will be provided to promote the agreement. In this first exploratory meeting, Porfirio Quezada, Projects and Memberships Manager; Ashley Acosta, Planning and Processes Coordinator; Diana Bonetti, Project Manager, and Malú Vásquez, community manager and graphic designer, also participated.