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First steps

The new school year has started on September 1st 2009, with 100 new students from Sala Baï 8th intake.
The training year started with a familiarization and orientation period of 7 weeks, interrupted by traditional festivities and public holidays. Step by step, the students have been learning about their new life, where almost everything was unknown! Discovery of the student?s accommodations, presentation of their future jobs, visits of Siem Reap and some hotels, organization of outside activities to know each other, etc...
And then, apprenticeship starts, with practice and theory lessons as well as English lessons, general knowledge or mathematics.
The 4 training hotel rooms reopened on October 5th while Sala Baï restaurant welcomed its first guests on the 12th. Which profesionnal doesn?t remember its first customer ? A stress full experience, but also an impressive ordeal for our students, that will become a fantastic souvenir at the end of the year.
On November 9th, 50 students left for 2 months internship in the 16 partners hotels of Sala Baï. The 50 others stayed at school alternating with theory and practice lessons, under their trainer?s supervision.
To all of them, we wish good luck!

Who are they?
Intake 2009-2010 profile

Total: 100 students, wich 70 are girls
- Average age: 19
- Average education level: Grade 10 (1st high school class)
- Average lack of school: 3 years for girls and 4 years for boys
- 41% are orphans: no father, no mother or neither, with an average of 6 siblings per family
- 82% come from the province of Siem Reap, 7% from Banteay Meanchey (North West), the remaining 11% are from  8 other Provinces
- 32% are supported by 7 NGO partners

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Job placement

More than 3 months after graduation ceremony of intake 2008-2009, 97% of the 100 graduates have found a job!
Mr KIM Khemara, Social Worker Senior and Student Services Coordinator tell us about job placement for 2008-2009 intake.

How was job placement for 2008-2009 intake considering the worldwide economic crisis?
I was expecting a very bad situation. But I have to say that the situation is better than I thought. We can observe that only a few 5* or chain hotels hire staff this year, probably because they suffer more from the crisis. So, most of our students have been placed in smaller structures like guest houses and restaurants.
What was also positive is that our team didn?t need to make so much pro active actions this year. Hotels and restaurants came to see us when they needed to hire staff. It means that now Sala Baï is well known and recognized by the hospitality sector.

What is the difference in term of...
-salaries?
I was expecting an average of 60$, but finally we reached 66$. I am satisfied to see that the crisis impact is not at this level.
-employers requirements?
The 2 main expectations from the employers are the professional skills and the English level. In general small structures are more demanding because they are not big enough to provide internal training, compare to larger structures.
-type of contracts?
This is what worries me the most this year. Small structures do not offer job security, if the business is bad, they cannot keep the staff. In big hotels, after the probation period, the staff has a permanent position.

Why does 3 students are still unemployed?
Even if the 3 of them are girls from cooking department, the reasons are different for each of them. One student gets back to her homeland because of health problems.  The second one gets back to her homeland as well to help her family, she will be back in Siem Reap for job search very soon. The last one receives a job undertaking in a 5* hotel, but the position is still not open.

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October   
5 oct:training hotel opening
12 oct:training restaurant opening. For each new menu, the cooking students are introducing the new dishes to restaurant students. The presentation ends with tasting for everybody.
22 oct:workplace behavour and ethics conference, by the Human Ressources Manager of Le Méridien hotel of Siem Reap
23 oct:hygiene conference by Sala Baï social workers
29oct-9 Nov: Water Festival holidays

November   
12&13 nov: Agir Pour Le Cambodge France mission at Sala Baï, represented by Mr George-Henry Leroy, Secretary of the association. An opportunity to organize a cookies workshop  with all the students to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Agir Pour Le Cambodge and Salim retirement with an excellent afternoon snack
19 nov: Plan International NGO partner came to broadcast Sala Baï daily activities. The movie is part of an awareness and fundraising event against humain trafficking. This campaign is  called « Because I?m a girl » and will be run during end of the year festivities in Netherlands
20 nov: Childsafe conference to introduce this program against sexual tourism to the students. Lead by Friends International team.
25 nov: conference and movie projection by the Siem Reap Provincial Department again Human Trafficking

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