Maldives has welcomed its first ever indigenous butler training academy.

The Maldives Butler Academy says it aims to develop professional butlers in country’s lucrative the tourism and hospitality industry.

At a special function held Thursday afternoon, the tourism ministry officially recognised the academy through a partnership agreement. Tourism minister Dr Abdulla Mausoom and Mohamed Yamany, the Principal and Trainer of Maldives Butler Academy, signed the agreement.

The tourism minister expressed his gratitude on the initiative taken by Maldives Butler Academy to provide certified courses for hospitality and tourism professionals.

“This initiative will be a game changer to the tourism industry. As part of the ministry’s master plan to provide more opportunities for locals, we believe the Maldives Butler Academy will assist us in producing top level butlers for the industry,” he said.

“The ministry intends to introduce new tourism sectors to Maldives such as real estate tourism and private island tourism under the new act. Hence, there is a need for more local certified butlers as we want more locals to be involved in higher paying positions.”

The Minister also noted that the Ministry of Tourism endorse the trained butlers and discussion are taking place with Maldives Qualification Authority (MQA) to get an approved certification level.

Yamany said that each year there are a number of butler trainings conducted by foreign firms whose programmes are more designed towards city hotels. There is a need for an indigenous butler training programme, he added.

“The butler training course by Maldives Butler Academy has been designed with the input of many of the veterans of the Maldives hospitality industry,” he said.

“Through this academy, we hope to accentuate the growth of Butlers in the Maldives, providing structure to training that helps the talented hoteliers to take the step to the next level in personalised service.”

The initiative is in line with the Maldivian government’s efforts to improve and provide opportunities for the locals here in Maldives and assist them in growing in their respective careers.

Yamany has almost two decades of extensive hospitality experience, having worked with several international hotel brands such as Soneva, Six Senses, Four Seasons and Anantara to name a few. He has worked in locations like Vietnam, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and the Maldives.

Throughout his career, Yamany held top positions within Learning and Development, Quality Management, Operational Excellence and recently overall Human Resources departments.

He also lectured at the Maldives National University and has conducted training programmes on topics such as time management, coaching, and leadership development both at resorts and colleges throughout the Maldives.