From Sydney to Shanghai Accor wants you!

Global hotel group Accor has announced that it is seeking up to 50 hospitality or business graduates to fill positions in its Graduate Management Trainee (GMT) Program for the 2008 intake. The one-year program provides on-the-job training and career development for graduates looking to fast-track their careers in hospitality.

Applications are open to anyone who has completed a degree or diploma in hospitality or business, has at least 12 months of industry-related work experience and a willingness to relocate to regional areas of Australia or New Zealand if necessary.

As an organisation that recognizes staff who are committed to developing their knowledge with tertiary studies, Accor is the only hotel group in Australia with its own nationally accredited training academy, Academie Accor, and offers endless opportunities for ambitious graduates, with more than 4000 hotels and resorts around the world and 130 in Australia alone.

The GMT program is designed to complement tertiary qualifications during a year-long paid internship aimed at developing participants into Senior Supervisor or Junior Management level within Accor.

Each GMT will undertake two six-month placements in operational hotel departments and in addition to this practical experience, must complete specific projects to increase knowledge and build their skills.

For the first time, Accor will also offer three Sydney-based Finance Graduate Management Trainee positions and the aim is to take a strategic approach to developing talent and offering a career for a support area within the company that is becoming more difficult to attract candidates to due to the talent-tight market in this area.

The Finance GMT program is 18 months long and involves three six-month placements in three different business units. Candidates will need a degree in Business, Accounting or Finance and will take on roles in Accounts Payable and Receivable, and Night Auditor as well as taking on additional Finance projects, with successful candidates taking on a senior finance or Assistant Financial Controller role on completion of the training.

Since joining the program, Michael Parsons, 28 has travelled the world including the U.S, Japan, Indonesia, China and more, in his role as project manager of World of Accor, a series of showcases of Accor hotels and resorts.

“Accor is a great employer to work for because it has hotels and resorts across the world but also because it has a strong focus on training and fosters career advancement for those who are passionate about their careers,” he said.

After completing a Bachelor of Business and Hotel Management at Griffith University, Michael joined Accor in 1999 and has held a variety of positions including working in food and beverage, front office and corporate office before taking his current role as Assistant Marketing Manager.

“The best thing about the program is that it allows you to gain exposure to different areas of the business and to put the theoretical skills you’ve learned in your studies into practice,” he says.

Karen Taylor joined Accor in 1991 after completing a Certificate of Catering at TAFE and is now General Manager of a 200-room Novotel in Glen Waverley, just outside Melbourne CBD.

“Accor provides an ideal infrastructure to develop and grow staff,” she said.

“Accor is truly a company that provides career progression and support for staff who want to make hospitality a career and not just a job.”

As part of the GMT program, Karen worked across different Accor hotels in Australia and New Zealand and achieved her dream of becoming a Hotel General Manager in 1999.

Kasey Lowe, 30, who completed a Bachelor of Business in Travel Management, says the program has proven an amazing experience, having taken her around Australia.

She is soon heading to Katherine in the Northern Territory, where she will become Duty Manager at the completion of her GMT posting at Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour.

“The program has really provided the chance to try a few different roles within hospitality and has helped me to decide where I would like to focus my career in the future,” she said. “I have worked in reservations, rooms division, front office and done some work in communications, concierge and reception so it has provided a broad base of training to complement my degree.

“Accor is a great company because it is so dynamic and provides endless opportunities for furthering your career.”

Her advice to anyone wanting to undertake the Graduate Management Trainee program is to embrace the experience and be open to new things and new places.

“The program is a great way to network with people across the organisation and if you are passionate about your career and open to the experience it could take you anywhere you want to go,” she said.

There are positions available in every state and territory in Australia, with applications closing on 12th November.

For more information on the program and details on how to apply go to www.accorhotels.com.au/careers or send your application and a covering letter to [email protected]

A Report by The Mole