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The program will run again in the 2019-20 school year and Mr. Roustom hopes to add even more hotel partners and students to the program. “In the last few years, we’ve been really low on talent,” Mr. Roustom says. “The focus on growing and developing a talent pool has been really pre-eminent for all [hospitality] industry organizations.”
Other students who have completed similar programs echo this enthusiasm. Jack Vickers, a Grade 12 student at Runnymede Collegiate Institute, was one of the first to participate in a TDSB program that offered exposure to the transportation sector. Part of the school board’s Specialized Trades Exploration Program , students were invited to work at the Toronto Transit Commission .