A leading Cook Islands resort group celebrated the graduation of 42 staff members who participated in a programme designed to enhance leadership potential and skills within the hospitality industry.

The Island Hotels Limited, which owns The Edgewater Resort and Spa and Club Raro Resort, held a 12-week Step-up Leadership Programme earlier this year.

The programme had 42 staff from both their resorts participating, and a graduation ceremony was held on Friday, May 30, at The Edgewater Resort and Spa, to celebrate their achievement.

The group human resources manager, Taa Pera, said: “It’s a day to honour achievements, a day to celebrate growth and of course most importantly a day to recognise the bright future of our leaders.”

“The Step-Up Leadership Programme is more than just a development initiative. It’s a commitment to empowering our leaders, equipping them with the skills to thrive and fostering a culture of excellence within our business.”

According to Pera, the Step-Up programme not only acknowledges leadership potential but also strengthens, refines and elevates the capabilities of those who drive each other forward.

“Today we celebrate vision, ambition and the power of leadership. The future is shaped by those willing to step up.”

At the beginning of each year, the hotel group organises the Step-Up I programme, which runs for three months from January to March.

It focuses on identifying and nurturing leadership potentials within the staffs of The Edgewater and Club Raro Resort.

Step-Up II is a three-month programme designed to provide participants with hands on experiences in cross-department collaboration.

Programme tutor Caroline Medway-Smith showed gratitude to every graduate who underwent many challenges, assessments and classes.

She also shared the importance of having this kind of initiative in businesses as it helps both the employees and employer improve in their own skills and experiences.

“So, to those people who perhaps are non-believers or haven’t got quite grasped the concept of training within an organisation, in the words of Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, the motor car company, I’m sure you’ve all heard of Ford, he said, ‘what’s worse, train them and they leave or don’t train them and they stay?’ It’s a powerful reminder that a well-trained workforce benefits both the employees and the organisation.”

Student representative Mini Rose Varu shared her journey through this programme, what she had learned and her struggles.

“What we’ve come to learn is that true leadership is about service, courage and consistency. It’s about listening just as much as speaking. It’s about lifting others up, especially when no one is watching.”

According to Varu, there were times when she felt discouraged and disheartened, but she and her peers were capable and motivated to keep going, which got them to where they are today.

From the total graduates, 33 completed and passed their Step-Up I session (including those from both The Edgewater and Club Raro), and nine completed and passed Step-Up II.

Four graduates, who completed the Step-Up II programme, received top grades. They are Sireli Tora and Tamatoa Graham from the front office department, Varu from the reservation department and Edward Stephan from the food and beverages department.

From the 25 Edgewater graduates, four were from the food and beverages department, three from the kitchen, two from the spa and salon, four from housekeeping, two each from the sales and marketing department, activities and kids club, maintenance department and Spaghetti House (restaurant) and one each from security, one each from reservations and front office department.

From Club Raro, there were two graduates from their front office team, four from food and beverages and one each from housekeeping and kitchen department.

Amongst the many graduates from both resorts, a few students received special prizes for showing determination, enthusiasm, leadership and participation.

Island Hotels chief executive Andrew Whittaker said: “I think it’s important that businesses, and I know a few other businesses around do invest in their team. We know that recruitment is very different now to what it was prior to Covid. I think it’s very important that the team that we have here, your employees, your staff, invest in them because they really have shown and come out of their shells since we’ve shown a pathway for them for the future.”

Whittaker continued, “it’s not just about turning up for work. It’s giving them a reason to turn up for work.”

Programme tutor Medway-Smith added, “I have patience, and I have belief in them as individuals. And so that’s the difference. I really concentrate on each person because I believe that each person has got the ability to push themselves.”

Medway-Smith and Whittaker are both confident that this programme will improve leadership skills amongst the graduates.