Washington, The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and the National Academy Foundation (NAF) recently teamed up to increase awareness of career opportunities in the lodging industry. This new venture aims to attract and recruit high school students to one of the nation's fastest growing businesses - the travel and tourism industry.

Through the partnership, students are offered a forum to exchange ideas, an opportunity to network with lodging industry leaders, and advanced notification of hospitality employment openings. For hoteliers, the program allows them to identify and enlist potential staff and internship candidates.

"This partnership works in tandem with our academic and employment goals for the hotel community. As such, it only makes sense that we combine the expertise of both associations into a single brain trust. Together, we can accomplish so much on behalf of both of the hotel and education industries," said AH&LA President and CEO Joseph A. McInerney, CHA.

Additionally, this venture supports the association's commitment to America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth. It also coincides with the industry's workforce initiatives being driven by the AH&LA Human Resources & Diversity Council and the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation's Scholars Alumni Association.

"The travel industry is a significant driver of the global economy. As such, NAF will work with AH&LA to build tomorrow's lodging workforce," adds NAF President John F. Ferrandino.

For more information on the AH&LA and NAF partnership, contact Faye Gayes, director of secondary educational programs, the Educational Institute of AH&LA, at (407) 999-8160 or [email protected]. Also, visit the association's Web site at www.ahla.com.

AH&LA is a 92-year-old federation of state lodging associations throughout the United States with some 11,000 property members nationwide, representing more than 1.5 million guest rooms. AH&LA provides its members with assistance in operations, education, and communications, and lobbies on Capitol Hill to provide a business climate in which the industry can continue to prosper. Individual state associations provide representation at the state level and offer many additional cost-saving benefits.

NAF is a nonprofit 501(c)3 intermediary organization that sustains a national network of career academies to support the development of America's youth toward personal and professional success-in high school, in higher education, and throughout their careers. NAF Academies, which are targeted to urban centers but also located within suburban and rural school districts, represent business/school partnerships that prepare young people for future careers through a combination of school-based curricula and work-based experiences. The industry component features paid internships, which provide students with a real-world context for their classroom learning. NAF currently supports 528 Academies in three industry themes: finance, travel & tourism, and information technology through major support from Citigroup, the American Express Company, Merrill Lynch and Co. Foundation, Inc., Bloomberg Financial Markets, The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., Sallie Mae, Inc., The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Compaq, Marriott International, Inc., Lucent Technologies, United Technologies, Computer Associates, Verizon Foundation, Oracle, AT&T, and others.

Tia T. Gordon
Manager Of Media Relations
(202) 289-3153
AH&LA