HERMANAS MIRABAL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — Two leading Dominican institutions have opened strategic negotiations to form a new partnership that aims to upgrade skills training for the fast-growing tourism and gastronomy sectors, a key economic pillar of the Caribbean nation. The National Institute of Technical and Professional Training (INFOTEP) and the Dominican Republic Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores) gathered at the Hermanas Mirabal Technological Center to outline their collaborative goals, bringing together senior leadership from both organizations to advance the initiative.
Leading the INFOTEP delegation was Rayza Pichardo, the institute’s Director of Business Competitiveness, while Asonahores was represented at the talks by its Executive Vice President Aguie Lendor. At the core of the proposed alliance is a shared commitment to modernize existing technical training curricula and adjust educational frameworks to align with the shifting trends and growing demands of the global hospitality and tourism industry. As international travel continues its post-pandemic recovery, Dominican tourism stakeholders have pushed for more targeted workforce development to maintain the country’s competitive edge in the Caribbean travel market.
Participants put forward a range of actionable proposals to advance the collaboration during the introductory meeting. One of the flagship initial plans calls for selecting five existing INFOTEP training centers to operate as pilot sites, where new educational approaches can be tested, performance can be assessed, and gaps in current programming can be identified for iterative improvement. Asonahores also put forward a proposal to integrate active industry professionals from local hotels and restaurants into instructor retraining programs, allowing INFOTEP teaching staff to gain first-hand insight into the latest operational dynamics, service standards, and emerging trends shaping the sector today.
Lendor outlined details for a particularly high-priority project: the development of a cutting-edge culinary training hub hosted at the Hermanas Mirabal Technological Center. The proposed center is designed to become a national reference point for innovation in Dominican gastronomy and haute cuisine, helping to elevate the country’s culinary profile both domestically and internationally as a food tourism destination. Another key proposal put forward during the talks is the creation of a dedicated digital job placement platform that will connect INFOTEP’s trained graduates directly with hotels and restaurants across the country that are struggling to fill open positions with qualified, skilled workers.
Representatives from INFOTEP emphasized the far-reaching benefits of the proposed partnership, noting that the aligned training framework will not only strengthen the overall business competitiveness of the Dominican tourism sector but also improve employment outcomes for young people and job seekers across the country. By matching technical education directly to the on-the-ground needs of employers, the alliance aims to reduce skills gaps and create more sustainable, formal employment in one of the nation’s largest employment-generating sectors. INFOTEP officials reaffirmed their commitment to moving forward quickly to formalize the strategic alliance and advance the joint projects focused on innovation and specialized workforce development in the coming months.