Cherie Stubbs-Timbery has won the HM Award for the best Food and Beverage Associate, just one year after completing Accor’s Indigenous Jobs Ready Program.
As Food and Beverage Team Leader at the Swiss Grand Resort and Spa at Bondi, Cherie says that Academie Accor and its Indigenous Employment and Training Programs were instrumental in giving her the skills to win this prestigious award.
She is a strong ambassador for Indigenous employment and has been selected to represent the state of NSW in Accor’s Indigenous Cadetship Program.
“I am very grateful for the support Accor has given me in developing my career in hospitality and in providing the training I needed to achieve the highest levels of service,” Cherie said. “Accor really is committed to improving opportunities for Indigenous staff and I could never have afforded to do this sort of training on my own.”
Cherie has used the Job Ready opportunity to take on greater responsibility both in the workplace and in her home, where she has become the primary income earner.
Cherie said she now looks forward to being a role model to other young Indigenous people seeking jobs in hospitality and will act as a mentor to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff within the group.
Academie Accor is the training and development arm of Accor and recently launched a new Job Ready program that provides up-skilling for Indigenous staff to ensure they can progress their careers within the group and to help with retention of Indigenous staff.
Since launching its Indigenous Employment Program in 2001, Accor has led the way in the tourism industry, providing full- or part-time jobs for over 600 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The Jobs Ready program is a five-day training course that focuses on building practical skills in key areas of hotel operations and management. Accor backs this up with ongoing support for indigenous staff on a range of levels from mentoring to access to further training.
Accor’s Lynda Robson of Academie Accor says it is an Australia-wide operation that allows Accor employees to develop their skills at no cost.
“The Job Ready program is aimed at ensuring Indigenous staff have the skills they require to deliver Accor’s standards of service and the support they need to grow and develop in their careers,” she said.
“Cherie is a great example of what our staff can achieve when presented with the right opportunities and the right tools and we will continue to focus even more on developing and retaining bright employees so they can become the future management of the company.”