Two senior students from the Tourism and Hotel Training School (EFTH) will undertake a 6-month traineeship at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, USA.

The initiative, which is now in its 5th consecutive year, provides these students with an opportunity to gain experience and "know-how" at a place of global reference. This projects counts on the support of the American Consulate and the Azorean Government.

According to the Regional Director of Youth, Bruno Pacheco, the Government of the Azores has been playing an important "role in the promotion and encouragement of this type of projects, involving Azorean and North American youngsters, with the purpose of providing opportunities for Azorean youngsters to undertake traineeships in reference institutions.

Bruno Pacheco also said today at a press conference, held at the EFTH premises in Ponta Delgada, that every year the Region sends Azorean youngsters to the United States of America under the Disney or the "Johnson and Wales" programmes. The government official also added that this initiative will bring positive results for the Azores shortly.

"This type of projects represents a new phase as well as a new face of the strategy developed by the Regional Government in partnership with the United States of America, through the American Consulate in Ponta Delgada, in order to increase the participation of youngsters.

This involvement will bring benefits to the Region in the medium and long-term as the creation of informal "networking" be made based on other type of sustainability, which did not happen until the development of this strategy," said the Regional Director for Youth.

This is a joint initiative of the East Carolina University, Walt Disney Resort and the Tourism and Hotel Training School.