VENUE: GAMBIA TOURISM HOSPITALITY INSTITUTE, KANIFING
DATE: 10 DECEMBER 2024

Chairperson
Director General, GTHI
Distinguished Representatives of institutions and organisations
Members of the Media Fraternity,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All protocols respectfully observed
A lot of work has been done to get us to this validation today of the Gambia Tourism & Hospitality Institute (GTHI)'s redevelopment Plan. The Tourism Diversification & Resilience in The Gambia (TDR) project with the active participation of relevant stakeholders h a s produced the following deliverables to support GTHI transformation:
• Training demand, supply and capacity gaps' assessment report that preceded the preparation of the Redevelopment Plan.
• 8 revised curricula for existing programmes
• Draft curricula for 18 new programmes (near finalization)
• Draft curricula for 25 new short courses (near finalization)
• Design for GTHI modern kitchen expansion for education and training, on which construction is currently ongoing.
As you may recall, an industry-player led approach was used during curricula revision and development t o give employers the opportunity to determine the specifications of the learners who would eventually become their employees after
graduation. Such an approach helps learners to acquire employable skills and reduce unemployment after graduation. This was followed by another consultative approach in the elaboration of GTHI Redevelopment Plan which included a stakeholder workshop for the development of a framework for the plan which was held on the 7th and 11 October 2024 at GTHI campus. This approach was preferred as it promoted ownership by all stakeholders and it shall ensure that GTHI is ready to commence implementation in earnest after today's validation workshop.

Ladies and gentlemen,
It is important to emphasize that the redevelopment plan under discussion, presents a new business model that brings into reality, the long cherished dream by the Gambia to transform GTHI into a Centre of Excellence with all the key processes required intact in strategic documents and plans. The Development plan includes capacity-building programmes with long and short-term training initiatives to enhance the skills of GTHI staff in order for them to better equip learners with relevant labour market need. The Plan also tries to address the human resource gaps in the tourism and hospitality sector. Financial simulations, to measure the impact of the new business model has been done as well as an assessment to establish the expected return on investment of the renovation/expansion work of GTHI test kitchen. In this regard and based on your background in tourism and hospitality or education and training, you were carefully selected to participate in this workshop to enhance the quality of the redevelopment plan before submission of the final document to GTHI for implementation.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
As stakeholders who have contributed with data and your views during data collection and interviews undertaken by the consultants to inform you of the content of this redevelopment plan, I wish to thank you very much for your contribution. We are here today to appreciate, validate the compiled and analyzed information and share our comments to enhance the quality of GTHI Redevelopment. After the validation of the redevelopment plan, the Project Implementation Unit of the TDR Project, through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture wil now pass the baton to GTHI who will take up the implementation of the plan. Having said this, I urge all of you to continue showing interest on the plan's implementation, enquire from MoTAC and GTHI on its implementation, as this type of accountability will lead to desired result that hopefully the production of this final, robust redevelopment plan for GTHI, deserves.

On behalf of the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the Project Steering Committee members of the TDR project, I wish to thank you very much for honouring the invitation to participate in this important exercise to support the transformative agenda of GTHI. This important activity is part of key initiatives or interventions that will help improve the Gambia's human capital, which is a key priority for the government as enshrined in the National Development Plan
(YIRIWA) 2023 - 2027.

It is therefore, an honour for me to have witnessed this important event as part of the process for the transformation of GTHI to meet the human resource needs of the tourism and hospitality sector in The Gambia. I wish you fruitful deliberation and, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture I am pleased to declare this workshop officially opened.