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The program at the Atlantic Tourism and Hospitality Institute offers training for such areas as vacation resorts, tour operations

By Charles Reid
Special to the Guardian
Want to get paid to start the limbo line on a cruise ship headed for Bermuda? If so, then Tara Costello might have the ticket.

Costello teaches a new program at Charlottetown's Atlantic Tourism and Hospitality Institute called Sport and Leisure Management. The institute started the program in September 2001.

The two-year program, said its developers, Costello and Wyatt Inman, is designed to train managers for businesses and organizations like vacation resorts and seniors homes, as well as teach students how to run a business like an outdoor guide service or a sea kayak tour operation. It's a booming industry, said Costello.

"Right now, there's probably more jobs than students. There's also opportunities for entrepreneurs for creating their own kayaking or canoeing business. There seems to be a growth in activity directors at resorts and cruise ships."

Costello said the institute offered a similar program that trained directors of rinks and gymnasiums, but Inman saw the need for more specialized training and wanted to expand the course to include instruction on how to teach people to stay fit and how to keep customers busy when they're at resorts or on cruise ships. They pitched the idea to the institute and received the go-ahead to implement it.

In the past, said Costello, Islanders had to leave the province to get this type of training, but now they can stay home.

The program is divided into three parts: business, academic and practical. In the business portion, courses run the gamut from information technology to Canadian law. The academic section includes sport administration to human anatomy, and the practical part includes on-the-job training and industry certification in things like coaching, kayaking and customer service. Later, students can receive credit for a diploma in the University of New Brunswick's kinesiology department and get a degree in business, physical education or hospitality in two and a half years instead of the usual four or five.

Although the program has a lot on its plate, it won't stop using a hands-on approach to learning, said Costello. "Students are able to relate to it better. A student recently said she wouldn't trade the experience for the world."

First-year student Cara Pierce said the hands-on style suits her much better. The 21-year-old Wolfville, N.S., native and former Mount Saint Vincent student said she found the university's large classes and lecture-type teaching wasn't something she liked. "It was very impersonal, you seemed like a number," said Pierce. "It's a nice thing not to learn things from a book." But, said Pierce, because of the advantages offered by having a degree, she hasn't ruled out a return to university after her program at the institute is completed.

As part of the diploma, students are placed in six month internships at on-the-job training sites from May to October during the break between their first and second year. Students can pick what type of site they want, like a resort or fitness gym, and where the site is, but aren't guaranteed they will get it. Costello and Susan Shaw, the program's internship co-ordinator, help the students get internships by working with them on their resumes and their job interview skills and introducing them to professionals in the business.

Although most of this year's students are placed in spots on the Island, said Costello, they're expected not to be shy about where they ask to go. "We encourage them to think big," she said, referring to one student who asked and was placed at a resort in England. Students can also be placed in places like Banff, Alta., Canmore, Alta., or Nantucket, an island off the coast of Massachusetts.

But the highlight of the program is the annual 10-day study tour students go on during their second year. The class travels to areas where their newly-learned skills are in demand so they can get an idea of what to expect when they start work in the field. This year's class is going to western Canada to tour the Rockies and explore Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta's 4,000 square kilometre Kananaskis wilderness area west of Calgary, and Jasper National Park in Alberta.

While touring western Canada sounds like great fun, the students and instructors do have real-world problems to deal with, Costello said.

The program needs new equipment and better gym facilities, said Costello, and sections of the course are often changed to reflect industry changes. For example, a new section was added to train students on how to plan and implement leisure activities for summer camps.

For her part, said Pierce, it can be difficult to be a guinea pig for something new. "I haven't heard of some of the curriculum. It's hard to be the first person in a course." However, said Costello, adjustments to the course are necessary and will benefit students in the long run. "We're constantly reflecting on the curriculum and delivering it in a way students will come away with what they need to know. We hope they'll look back in two years and say 'I learned a lot and had fun.' "

Cost for the program is $5,040 for the first year and $6,655 for the second and includes the study tour.