Montego Bay, St. James: Sandals Corporate University (SCU), the learning and development hub for Sandals and Beaches Resorts team members, continues to set the gold standard for excellence in AI implementation and training strategy as they celebrate their recent double win in the 2025 Brandon Hall Group^TM HCM Excellence Awards®.

Collaborating with Canadian-based corporate training company, Flint Learning Solutions, the SCU was awarded two gold medals for projects submitted to the categories: Best Use of AI in Business Impact for elevating guest experiences with AI training and Best Learning in the Flow of Work for improving hospitality with on-the-job activities.

The awarding organisation, The Brandon Hall Group™, has, for over 30 years empowered and certified business excellence globally and through the HCM Excellence Awards®, which recognises organisations that have implemented best practices for initiatives in learning and development, talent acquisition and management, leadership development, human resources, sales performance, diversity, equity and inclusion and the future of work.

Highlighting the achievement, SCU’s Senior Corporate Director, Dr. Luz Longsworth stated, “the Hospitality industry requires a flexible and fast paced approach to on-the-job training and the SCU is excited about the possibilities for expanding the use of AI in its training model to enhance our team members’ learning experience and to ultimately continue providing our Sandals and Beaches Resorts guests with consistently excellent service.”

Lenise White, Sandals Resorts’ measurement and evaluation specialist also shared her enthusiasm about the win.

“The double gold win from the Brandon Hall Group™ is a tremendous recognition of the impact the SCU has made in transforming hospitality learning and service delivery. It signifies that our efforts to integrate AI into training are not only innovative but also delivering real business impact.”

The partnership between SCU and Flint has, since its application, redefined on the job learning, demonstrating how innovative technology and training can ease real-world business challenges in the hospitality industry. The programme establishes a new standard for hospitality talent development and has given way to the integration of personalised, AI-powered learning, geared towards enhancing team member capabilities and elevating the guest experience without disrupting daily operations.

“We’re incredibly proud of our partnership with Sandals Corporate University and the exceptional results we’ve achieved together. SCU’s leadership in embracing innovative approaches to talent development has been instrumental in creating a programme that empowered employees to create the exceptional, memorable experiences that define the Sandals brand and keep guests returning year after year,” shared Flint’s Chief Executive Officer, James Glover.

The 2025 award entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives based on their alignment to business needs and environment, programme design, functionality and delivery, innovation and creativity among other criteria.

“This year’s Excellence Award winners exemplify the transformative power of strategic human capital management. Through their innovative approaches to talent development and employee engagement, these organizations have not only achieved remarkable business outcomes but have also redefined what it means to create truly people-centric workplaces,” remarked Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer and HCM Excellence Awards® Programme Leader, Rachel Cooke.

The win follows another exceptional achievement in AI-powered training after the SCU copped the bronze award for Best Corporate University in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Implementations from the Global CCU, earlier this year.

Photo Captions:

Header: A group of proud team members from Sandals South Coast team pose for a quick photo op after receiving their training completion certificates.

1st insert: Sandals Ochi Beach Resort General Manager, Carol Bourke (left) presents Learning and Development Manager, Joy Bernard with her certificate of recognition for the role that she played in administering the training initiative.

2nd insert: Ghislain Boutoulle, hotel manager at Beaches Turks and Caicos (right) beams as he congratulates bar department team member, Andrew Clarke on his successful course completion.

MONTEGO BAY, September 11 (JIS):  Jamaica’s capacity to identify and support children with autism has been bolstered by a groundbreaking three-year training initiative that continued into its second phase at the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital in St. Ann, on Wednesday, September 10.

Dubbed the Autism and Developmental Needs Skills Training for Caregivers and Families, the programme will create a core of 10 master trainers who will in turn train others across the island to build a sustainable network of experts.

The programme is being carried out under the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Caregiver Skills Training (CST) framework.

It is being made possible through a partnership among the Sandals Foundation, Autism Speaks, The Bob and Rita Marley Foundation, and The Colour of Autism Foundation.

Speaking to journalists, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, Heidi Clarke, said the training is designed to make autism support more accessible across Jamaica by equipping those already working with children and families to provide practical tools and strategies.

“These 10 master trainers are going to be able to go back out into the communities and train other people to kind of spread the effect, getting it into every corner in Jamaica, so that we’re able to help identify [autistic] children and help their parents, teachers and caregivers to be able to understand how to deal with them,” she explained.

The Sandals Foundation and Sandals Resorts International have committed a total of US$162,000 in cash and kind support towards the entire three-year endeavour.

This investment covers online training, technical support, stipends for trainees, printed materials, transportation, and accommodation for the capacity-building sessions.

“Mico University College is directly in contact with all of the various [master trainers] in the respective organisations. They’re the ones who identified the people who are going to be trained,” Mrs. Clarke noted.

“So, it’s everybody from Early Stimulation to the Montego Bay Autism Centre, among other institutions, that are spreading autism awareness and support across the country,” she added.

One of the trainees, Sandrea Long-White, Project Manager at Community Based Rehabilitation Jamaica, noted that the training is particularly valuable for rural communities where her organisation works directly with families in their homes.

In fact, it is important to equip parents living in rural Jamaica with the skills to manage the daily challenges of raising a child with autism, to ease the overwhelming and uncertain pressures, she noted.

“So, one of the key takeaways from the training, thus far, is that whatever the child can do, we focus on that and build on that strength that the child has. That’s something that we need to teach our parents to recognise, the little achievements that our disabled children can do to build their skill to help them in their development,” Mrs. Long-White underscored.

In the meantime, Head of Special Education at The Mico University College, Michele Meredith, pointed out that the three-year programme will be certified.

Ms. Meredith said it will combine the WHO’s packaged content with components from The Mico’s own special education courses to give graduates a recognisable certification in the field.

Moreover, after the initial three-year cycle, funded by the Sandals Foundation, The Mico University College will take over the programme as a formal extramural offering, she noted.

The second phase of the programme will run from September 8 to 12. In addition to the trainers, six families will also participate in the sessions.

Since 2016, some 35 Caregiver Skills Training (CST) sites have been implemented worldwide, certifying more than 250 master trainers, with language translations under way to include 10 additional languages.

Contact: Okoye Henry

Release: JIS