SM Foundation scholars receive hotel training for free

SM Scholars demonstrate new skills acquired from their 3-day hotel training at Taal Vista Hotel

They may not have had the chance to pick up a college degree for themselves—or at least not yet—but these young individuals are hoping—and proving—that there are other avenues to acquire needed education and skills to start a career they can be proud of.

One of them is 21-year-old Leony Perfiña, who was able to graduate from high school, but was forced to put on hold her dream of taking up business management because her family didn't have the money for it.

“For a while after graduating from high school I wasn't sure where I'll be heading in life, especially because I knew there was a slim chance for me to get into college,” said Leony in Filipino. Eldest of five children, with farmers as parents, the pressure to help provide for the family rests on Leony's shoulders.

Leony Perfiña, one of the SM scholars who underwent the hotel training at Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay

Fortunately for the young lady, she was given a chance to undergo a “hotel training” sponsored by the SM Foundation and the Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay.

The 30-day “SM Foundation Scholars' Training Program” aims to provide hotel training and exposure to qualified candidates in Taal Vista Hotel (as endorsed by SM Foundation) who are locals from four barangays (Bulihan, Calayo, Looc, and Papaya) in Nasugbu, Batangas. The program

SM Scholar Jordan Limboc now works as a waiter in Pico Sands in Batangas

The month-long hands-on training teach the young individuals, aged 18 to 28, in different fields such as housekeeping, food and beverage service, food and beverage kitchen training, and engineering.

Leony is one of the 30 individuals who belong to the second batch of SM Foundation scholars who underwent this training. An earlier group of 30 trained last February to March. The second bath finihed their course last May.

"With the training we got, I am now more confident that I'll find a stable job" she said. "My dreams are well and alive again."

Cristie Angeles, AVP for Livelihood of the SM Foundation, is proud of the scholars' progress. According to her, 29 out of the 30 individuals they trained are now working as full time employees at Pico Sands, the newest hotel in the upscale Pico de Loro in Nasugbu. [The other one got married right after the program.]

"It's always nice to see these children grow by leaps and bounds, considering that many of them haven't entered a hotel or rode an elevator before in their lives. They have no obligation to work for SM or Taal Vista Hotel or Pico Sands. After the program, the scholars are free to look for jobs that they see fit to their newly acquired skills," Angeles said.

Aside from undergoing the 30-day program, the scholars also get free food and housing benefits, courtesy of the SM Foundation.

One of the 29 scholars from the first batch of trainees is 22-year-old Jordan Limboc, who is now working at Pico Sands, the luxurious hotel that is part of the Pico del Loro development in Hamilo Coast located in Nasugbu, Batangas.

Jordan started working as a waiter at Pico Sands as soon as he finished their 30-day training at Taal Vista Hotel. Asked to where his first salary went, he said he used it to pay for debts and to help his family. Because Jordan didn't get to finish the Psychology course he took several years ago, he hopes to save enough fund for this so he could finish his college studies.

"We're very thankful for what Sm Foundation, Taal Vista Hotel, and Pico Sands, has taught us," he said. "If it weren't for them giving a chance at a decent work, I'd probably just be at home right now doing nothing. We couldn't ask for more."