The Academy of Hospitality & Tourism (AHT) is preparing at-risk high school students for careers in the industry.

Part of the National Academy Foundation (NAF), the AHT has 78 hospitality and tourism academies in 45 cities nationwide. The training program reaches a significant population. In Miami, for example, it reaches 1,500 students.

At these schools students take a regular curriculum and at least one class per semester — customer service, marketing, event planning — in the hospitality industry. This is in addition to internships and job shadowing events where students visit hotels to learn how they work from the inside.

“We’re preparing young people, while they’re in high school, with the experiences and the academic background to pursue a hospitality career,” says Colleen Devery, assistant vice president of strategic initiatives and administration, National Academy Foundation, New York. “It’s really the combination of education and a connection to a career opportunity.”

Among the most interesting courses is one in world cultures where students learn geography and a global perspective to help them understand the peoples they may encounter.

The academy is an employee pipeline for the 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel, which hires up to 20 interns each summer. There first-time students work, primarily, at the pool.

“If they like it and are available during winter vacation they come back. When they come back they get different jobs,” says Susana Fernandez, director of human resources. “Some do that through high school. Some do that through college.”

“We have 25 current employees who’ve been through the program and 14 current managers who are graduates of the academy,” she says. “It’s an incredible program for our hotel and our community.”

Marriott International has a national partnership with the academies. So far, the company has offered more than 60 internships, numerous job shadowing opportunities and multiple job fairs. Marriott executives and managers serve on advisory boards at more than 35 academy programs across the country.

Anna Marschke, director of human resources operations at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, is one of many who go to high schools to talk about career progression and opportunities with Marriott.

“We give students insight into this career field,” says Marschke. “We really want to invest in these students so they develop marketable skills so we could later recruit them.”

Industry involvement is a real community service. More than 90% of NAF students graduate from high school — compared to 50% in the urban areas where most NAF academies are located. And, while some students take hotel jobs upon high school graduation, many go on to college for additional preparation in the field. That’s a success statement for schools in at-risk neighborhoods with low graduation rates and lower college-bound rates.

Devery attributes the success to a combination of the educational techniques and connection to career opportunities. She says, “They’re able to see the links to career paths and get engaged in their learning and planning for their futures.”

For more information on participation, contact director of partnership development Charlie Katz at (212) 635-2400 or ckatz@naf.org