Over the next two years, the Educational Institute will work with the OFPPT, the office of vocational training and job promotion, to train and certify 75 trainers and 15 instructors who will be qualified to conduct training and professional certification sessions for hospitality industry professionals in Morocco. EI will also deliver five complete libraries of training materials to the OFPPT for its use in training hospitality professionals. These libraries consist of all of the Institute�s books, videos, CD-ROMs, and skills guides, as well as access to EI�s web site resources. 

Under the terms of the contract, the Educational Institute will certify 75 hospitality teachers as Certified Hospitality Educators at three hospitality institutes run by the OFPPT in Casablanca, Agadir, and Marrakech.  Fifteen of those teachers will be selected for further accreditation as certification instructors for the Educational Institute�s other certification programs.  These include the Certified Hotel Administrator, Certified Hospitality Supervisor, Certified Food & Beverage Executive, Certified Rooms Division Executive, Certified Hospitality Housekeeping Executive, and other programs. 

This contract is the outcome of the efforts and patience of all parties concerned, involving Mr. Mounir Chraibi, director general of the OFPPT and Mr. Roy Kennington, senior vice president, Educational Institute. 

�The Educational Institute was approved by the Moroccan government to provide this training because of our strong scholastic content and our globally-recognized certification programs,� explained Kennington. �This is a unique opportunity to impact the professionalism of the booming tourism industry in Morocco.� 

It is the goal of the OFPPT to certify at least 500 hospitality professionals a year, using its network of EI-certified educators and trainers. 

Early in the process, a six-member Moroccan project team will come to the United States for an intensive orientation at EI�s Orlando and Lansing offices. Team members will receive an introduction to EI products and services and will gain an understanding of the professional certification process. Shortly thereafter, EI experts will travel to Morocco to develop a marketing plan and implement the programs. This will include evaluating trainers, identifying training needs, and elaborating an individualized professional development plan for each trainer. 

�We expect to see a tremendous amount of growth in this program over the next five years,� said Dr. Anthony G. Marshall, president and chief executive officer of the Educational Institute. �We hope that our efforts in Morocco can become a model for other governmental programs aimed at the training and professional development of hospitality industry professionals. We are pleased to enhance the hospitality industry professionalism in Morocco, a country that has been a friend of the United States for over 200 years.� 

Established in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation of the American Hotel & Motel Association, the Educational Institute is the world�s largest hospitality communication resource center, providing quality training and educational materials for the hospitality industry.