High school students are getting a taste of the hospitality industry through full-time summer jobs.Seventeen youngsters are currently hard at work at restaurants and hotels across the Island after they successfully completed the START programme.The ten-week Skills, Tasks And Results Training scheme is an American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) programme.It was organised by the Bermuda Hospitality Institute; a non-profit organisation trying to encourage Bermudians to work in the industry.The course, which ran from March 8 to May 14 at Bermuda College, was taught by Shawn DeShields, hospitality senior lecturer at Bermuda College, and Joann Adams, director of staff development at Berkeley Institute.It provided career-based learning to prepare students for the vast opportunities in the hospitality industry.BHI’s CEO Karla Lacey said: “These young men and women demonstrated dedication, commitment and a level of excitement about the industry that impressed their instructors and current employers.“The ten weeks they spent on the course stretched over their busy exam periods at school, as well as every Saturday morning.”Their successful completion of START guaranteed each student full-time summer employment because hotels and restaurants kept positions open for them.Ms Lacey added: “We all know summer jobs for students were scarce this year, especially for high school students.“The industry has been totally supportive of the students who committed to this programme and has shown their support by employing them in meaningful positions for the summer.”After 90 days on the job, each student will receive an internationally-recognised certificate from AHLEI.Ms Lacey said: “It puts them at the front of the line for opportunities and is a foundation on which they can build a career.“Over the coming decades, this group will mature into individuals who will play a key role in Bermuda’s hospitality industry.“Whether as leaders or supporters, the experience they’re gaining now will eventually reverberate throughout our community.”START students at restaurants include Satori Brangman, a server at Barracuda Grill; Kyle McNeil, a kitchen trainee at La Coquille at Tucker’s Point; Kurt Scott, a host/server at Pickled Onion; Raven White, a kitchen porter/cook’s helper at Pickled Onion and Latin; and Shaylee Weeks, a waitress at St George’s Club.In our hotels you will find Princine Bailey as a minibar attendant at Tucker’s Point; Chyone Harris as a beach attendant and Mintwa Trott as a spa attendant at Elbow Beach; Holly DeSilva and Shannon Talbot as Discover Bermuda team members at the Fairmont Southampton Resort; Jahde Rabain at the front office of The Reefs; Zakiya Furbert as a room attendant at Pompano; and at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Kalea Steede is a lobby greeter and Nathan Simmons is a host.At Snorkel Park Christina Hoban is a beach attendant and Ateunae Rewan is an expediter. Traynario Wright is also working at Butterfield and Vallis as an order selector.