WINDHOEK – Good things do come to those who wait, especially those who work hard to realise their dreams. Alex Matukarua is one such remarkable example of how perseverance and hard work can take you to the top.

Today the young entrepreneur, who started out as a cleaner at a local hotel and moved up the ranks to become a manager, owns a hospitality training academy in the heart of Katutura and has branched out to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund where he now employs eight people.

Matukarua started working as a cleaner at the Kalahari Sands Hotel and then became a waiter before being promoted to head waiter.

The sky was the limit for the young man, as he moved up to become a telephone operator and eventually a night manager.

His passion for the industry and ambition to excel prompted him to enrol for the Hospitality Management Diploma course at the Polytechnic of Namibia, which he completed in 2008.

In the meantime, Matukarua had already registered a company in 2007 called Namibia Hospitality Training Academy (NAHOTA), where he started training courses in basic computer, waitressing, bartending, housekeeping and cleaning, becoming a receptionist, food preparation and chef training. The company is also known as the Namibia Waiters and Waitresses Training Academy, which trains on average 200 students per year who get gobbled up by some of the finest hotels, lodges, restaurants, guest houses and event organisers.

Alternatively, clients make use of their dial-a-waiter service when they need to recruit new staff or for training development, while they also supply waiters and waitresses for hotel functions, caterers, weddings, end-of-year functions, funerals, VIP state visits, government official and NGO events.

To enrol at NAHOTA, students only need command of the English language, while a passion for the job, a service oriented attitude and the “right personality” can be advantageous.

“We have a proven record of creating dedicated trainees through job attachments of whom most are now employed by the industry,” enthuses Matukarua.

Courses at the academy are priced between N$850 from for a basic computer course to N$3 890 for a full course in food preparation and chef training. Training is  ongoing and students can apply at any time of the year.

For more information, interested parties may call 061-259328 or visit the office in Spreuke Street in Katutura, opposite the Pick & Pay Shopping Centre.

By Magreth Nunuhe