Four Seasons work experience for Prem Career-related Programme students

Five Prem Tinsulanonda International School Grade 12 Career-related Programme students had a unique and rewarding opportunity last month, experience working life within the Four Seasons, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The students reflect on their highlights:

Sarah:

We had the opportunity to work in different divisions of the resort. The housekeeping staff educated us about the standards they must follow when cleaning the guest rooms. My favorite day was the cooking and baking day. Firstly, we had the chance to cook for the chef. He would show us how to make a simple dish such as Tom yum Kung. The second half was baking, we got to decorate cookies and cakes. After we finished decorating we were able to take the cookies and cakes home. They were delicious! I have learned many skills, such as the need to be open-minded and the need to be ready to learn new skills to constantly improve myself.

Mook:

I appreciated experiencing a real-life working situation which was new for us because we are used to learning from a business textbook. There were four main divisions and each day we rotated. The housekeepers taught us how to make a perfect bed. The front desk involved rotating between the gym, kids club, boutique shop and working with the bellman. I realized that there are many responsibilities and that they need to have a meeting every day in order to make sure that there will be no mistakes. I really enjoyed working in the kitchen and cooking the Thai dishes that chef taught us to make. Finally, in the restaurant, we learned table manners and some skills that a waiter/waitress must have such as how to serve and recommend from the menu. Overall, I’m glad that I got the opportunity to experience the internship before I graduated. I learned many things about the hotel industry and the skills I learned will definitely be helpful in the future.

Derrick:

I had the opportunity to concentrate solely on my passion as a chef and worked in four different kitchens (Western, Thai, Bakery, and Italian). I had a really great experience and loved meeting such amazing people. The customers said they enjoyed the food which is one of the best feelings for a chef. People from the kitchen were really kind and friendly, it felt like they were family. The best moment for me was when I got to serve my own food to the head chef and he said, “You can be a chef because the skill you have got at just this age is really surprising!”

Debbie:

As an introduction to the work experience, we started off by watching a documentary about The Four Seasons, which gave us a lot of knowledge on the history behind it. What I gained an appreciation of was the different aspects involved in the hotel business. I began to understand exactly how much work goes into each position and I was lucky enough to gain some personal knowledge from the General Manager as well. I feel this allowed me to really understand the hospitality industry and the works behind it. It has allowed me to gain new work skills and a new perspective on the workplace.

Jigme:

I’d like to start off by thanking Ajarn Beth, Linda and Lisa for helping to arrange such an amazing internship opportunity. What I found most fascinating was the organization of the business and how every department works so well in synergy together to give guests a truly 5-star experience. They have meetings every day to talk about what worked and what did not. Their attention and care for every detail is what sets them apart from the competition and makes the guest stay unforgettable.

Thank you to all the staff involved at the Four Seasons for making this experience possible.

For more information about Prem Tinsulanonda International School’s IB Career-related Programme please visit: www.ptis.ac.th/academics/senior-school