Aitken Spence Hotels' Heritance Rise trainees sweep top honours at SLITHM Graduation

AITKEN Spence Hotels recently marked a defining moment in its commitment to shaping the future of hospitality leadership, as trainees from its flagship Heritance Rise Management Trainee Program emerged as some of the most decorated graduates at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) Graduation Ceremony 2024/25.

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Together, the cohort clinched 15 special awards, with standout performer Tharuka Chaturangi being honoured with the Most Outstanding Graduate Award for the three-year Management Diploma—one of the two highest recognitions conferred at the national graduation ceremony.

Launched to respond to the critical need for talent development in the hospitality industry, Heritance Rise is Aitken Spence Hotels' purpose-driven initiative to nurture the next generation of Sri Lankan hoteliers through a structured, immersive, and performance-led learning journey. The program is uniquely crafted in five phases: an intensive eight-month training in core area of specialisation, four months of cross exposure across other key hotel departments, including corporate office immersion to understand the business of hospitality, three months overseas exposure in India, Maldives or Oman and a final three-month management and leadership specialisation phase, allowing participants to hone necessary skills aligned with their passion and career goals.