The impact that COVID-19 has had and will continue to have on the hospitality industry is unprecedented and has proven to be challenging for many. International students were among those who lost their hospitality jobs when the restrictions were imposed in Australia. To support them, we implemented the “COVID Assistance Meal Program”. Twice a week, students were asked to register to pick up meal kits from our Wayville Campus in Adelaide and our training facility, Chefs Academy in Sydney.
We strongly believe in this concept. It is incredibly important that we all ensure and check in on the wellbeing of our international students, who are living away from their home countries during this pandemic. There were many selfless people who supported this program and we would like to officially thank them again:
Sophie Thomson, Sophie’s Patch Adelaide: donations of fresh produce weekly for the Adelaide meal program - https://sophiespatch.com.au/
QTHC student volunteers who helped to prepare and package the meals weekly
Quality Events Adelaide Zoo for preparing, packaging, allocating meals - https://www.qualityeventsadelaidezoo.com/
QTHC staff members for assisting to prepare, package and allocate meals - Daisy Rajan, Jeff Kim, Jonathon Barrie, Michaela Marcus, Mike Rattananupap
Partner English Colleges including:
Intensive English Language Institute (IELI) - https://ieli.sa.edu.au/
SACE English Colleges (SACE) - https://sace.edu.au/
Universal English College (UEC) - https://uec.edu.au/
Sunshine Coast International College (SCIC) - https://www.scic.nsw.edu.au/
ELSIS English Language Schools (ELSIS) - https://www.elsis.edu.au/
ILSC Language Schools (ILSC) - https://www.ilsc.com/
“When COVID restrictions hit, the staff at our sister company, Quality Catering/Quality Events, had lost their jobs due to the forced closure of the Adelaide Zoo. The Federal Government then implemented the Job Keeper program, and rather than stay at home, the staff came in everyday and provided free meals to our student cohort. Over 10 weeks, we provided 3,910 collectively in SA and NSW, to QTHC international students and partner English colleges including, UEC, SACE, IELI, SCIC, ELSIS and ILSC.”
Richard Finlayson, Managing Director, Quality Training & Hospitality College
Make a connection with Richard via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-finlayson-b21a6b18/?originalSubdomain=au
We are grateful for all of our partnerships with English Colleges in SA and NSW. Below are a few testimonials from a few that participated in our COVID Assistance Meal Program.
“SCIC staff and students were delighted to participate recently in the QTHC Free Meals Program. What a fantastic concept! Meals prepared by QTHC culinary skill students under the supervision of their expert instructors, and shared with (highly appreciative) international students doing it tough during the pandemic period….brilliant! Thanks so much QTHC Team for the thoughtfulness and generosity, we are proud to partner with such an innovative and community-oriented institution.”
SCIC – Rupert Johnstone, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
“The current COVID-19 crisis has affected all segments of our society and none more so than the international student community. UEC are extremely proud to be associated with an organisation like QTHC that has so compassionately used its resources to assist those who are most in need of the most basic thing that so many of us take for granted – food on the table. A big thank you from all our students here at UEC to the QTHC team for your incredible generosity in this profoundly tricky time.”
UEC – Julian Lam, Team Leader Sales & Strategy
“In early June, Quality Training & Hospitality College – RTO 1036 reached out to the National Pathways Director of ILSC Education Group, Ms. Livia Tramontina advising that their college has established a means to support international students during the pandemic by offering gourmet meal packs, as part of their COVID-19 Assistance Free Meals Program. Ms. Jen Hatcher and Mr. Lucas Chiusoli, Directors of the Adelaide and Sydney ILSC/Greystone College campuses respectively, immediately jumped on board, seeing it as an excellent opportunity to support our student cohort during the pandemic and, at the same time, as a means to strengthen our pathway relations between both colleges.
It was agreed that 20 gourmet meal packs would be provided to 20 ILSC/Greystone College students, each containing three different meals, a drink, a menu and heating instructions, carefully prepared and packed by QTHC students and staff. The date was set and the Eventbrite registrations were quickly filled out by students in need. On the day of the event, our students arrived at the collection point on time. They were clearly more than grateful to receive the packs which included a supportive message by the Managing Director, Mr. Richard Finlayson. There, they were greeted by Chef Pierre and QTHC students. Our students were also thrilled to see a familiar face, Ms. Vesna Trajkovska, the University Pathway Coordinator of ILSC, who was there to ensure that the event would run smoothly.
ILSC/Greystone College extends sincere gratitude to our pathway partner “Quality Training & Hospitality College - RTO 1036” for their generosity and support of our students during these difficult times.”
ILSC – Vesna Trajkovska, University Pathways Coordinator
“Our international students were very appreciative for the free meals they were able to collect each week from our partner QTHC. During such a challenging time for international students, knowing they had some ready-made meals each week provided great comfort and support”.
SACE – Lachlan Coxtuck, Marketing and Operations Manager
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