Le Meridien, the newest luxury hotel in the town, has employed more than ninety Bhutanese, 51 males and 45 females. Most of them are university graduates.
Among them are Pema Deki and Pem Zom, both graduates of Gaedu College of Business Studies. They graduated from the college last year. They said they had a hard time getting a job. “At times, it was frustrating,” said one of them, “looking at fewer jobs available compared to thousands of graduates entering into the job market.”
They said they are overjoyed now that they are able to stand on their own feet even though they have been recruited along with seven others through Guaranteed Employment Programme.
The hotel, one of the most renowned chains, has employed Bhutanese mostly without skills and experiences. The hotel has recruited Bhutanese emphasizing more on attitude and enthusiasm towards their works, according to the General Manager, Tim Bilfinger.
He also added that the hotel is always in pursuit of further nurturing and developing the skills of the employees.
The hotel also boasts of providing best salary including the benefits among the five star hotels in the country.
Most of the employees have been working in the hotel for few months. Prior to their appointment, they were provided with training for a month. Meanwhile, the hotel has only 16 expatriate workers.