Lagos Continental inaugurates academy, commits to skills, service excellence

Riding on its many feats in the Nigerian hospitality industry, the Lagos Continental Hotel has adopted a revolutionary approach in closing the skills gap, boosting quality in service and facility deliveries and staff welfare with the launch of a training academy.

Tagged ‘Lagos Continental Training Academy’, the dedicated training outfit with staff dormitory, which is hosted in a world-class facility in Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos, a stone’s throw from the hotel building, took off with an inauguration on Tuesday, witnessed by staff members, hotel management, owners and industry stakeholders.

The new training academy is spread over 140 square meters, with two training rooms, over 80 seats in the main training area, board rooms for smaller meetings and an interactive television screen.

Its dormitory offers over 100 bed spaces for the trainees and staff members, a huge boost from 28 beds on offer before.

The hospitality academy is anchored on four pillars: knowledge, growth, leadership, and impact, amid ushering a new era of purposeful commitment and sustained investments in human capital development, career development and progression, and ultimately boosting welfare and productivity.

Expressing his excitement over the launch of the academy, Christoph Schleissing, general manager, Lagos Continental Hotel, noted that every transformation begins with a decision, he commended the decision of the owners, especially the chairman, to invest heavily in the establishment of the academy and also in the world-class facility that houses it.

“What is actually a game changer is the dormitory coming from 28 beds to over 100 beds. It makes us more flexible in delivering excellent services to our guests,” the general manager said.

Explaining the rationale behind the academy, Schleissing noted that true growth in any business does not happen by chance, but when people are equipped, inspired, and empowered.

“The above is what our academy is set to achieve,” he said.

Explaining further, Schleissing noted that the academy is not just a training centre, considering that it trains, facilitates, coaches and raises leaders.

“It is a learning experience curated to transform individuals and strengthen teams from the inside out”.

It is also in line with the vision of the owners for the hotel: “To become a centre of excellence in hospitality learning and leadership development. A place where curiosity is welcomed, professionalism is refined, and innovation is cultivated.”

Meanwhile, the academy features thoroughbred professionals who are associates of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development.

The training team members include: Williams Umeh, assistant training manager; Emmanuel King, training coordinator; and Williams Shaibu, training executive.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Umeh assured the hotel management of the team’s commitment to drive impactful learning initiatives, enhance the overall standard of training across the organisation, as well as boosting service excellence and productivity that will compensate for the huge investments made in setting up the academy by the hotel owners.

Umeh also promised that under his team’s watch, the academy will offer learning experiences curated to transform individuals and strengthen teams from the inside out.

Niyi Agoro, cluster director, human resources, Continental Hotel Group, described the development as a landmark achievement that reflects the hotel’s commitment to human capital development, employee welfare, and operational excellence.

“This significant investment goes beyond physical infrastructure; it represents a transformative vision centred on continuous learning, workforce empowerment, talent sustainability, and the enhancement of the overall employee experience,” Agoro said.

He also noted that the facilities reinforce the hotel group’s strategic objective of nurturing a highly skilled, motivated, and future-ready workforce capable of delivering exceptional hospitality standards.

Looking into the future, the general manager noted that while the academy is ushering a culture shift and building more than skills, it will also offer a future where teams come together not only to learn, but to think, create, collaborate, and inspire.