Investing in the future
So it seems quick adaptation and pitching concepts at just the right level are the ways to keep businesses afloat, but what next?
One person who is very excited about the future of the Jordanian F&B industry is Tamir Shaaban, PR manager at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA), which is based in Amman. The Academy was set up in September 2008 as a not-for-profit organisation after King Abdullah II decreed he wanted to see the country’s F&B industry improved.
The RACA teamed up with Swiss company Les Roches, one of the top hospitality and culinary schools in the world, to manage and operate the academy. It offers a two-year culinary diploma accredited in Jordan and Switzerland, and has the capacity to take 200 students.
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Shaaban believes the academy will have a big impact on the Jordanian F&B industry: “Sixty percent of our graduates have entered the labour force directly after graduating, be it in Jordan or another country,” he reveals.
“Those who have left us and gone to work in Jordan start off in middle-level management positions. Others have opted to obtain a further degree from one of our Les Roches campuses in Spain, Switzerland, Australia or the United States.”
When asked if he’s worried about training students that will then take their skills to work in other countries, Tamir says: “It’s not a worry at all. We encourage them to go and gain experience anywhere they can, and we are confident at the end of the day, when they have gained their relevant experience, they will come back to Jordan and have a stronger impact on the industry.”
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