As the global hospitality industry evolves amid changing guest expectations and persistent talent shortages, Sommet Education Business Solutions—the consulting vertical of Sommet Education, the world’s largest provider of hospitality, luxury, and gastronomic education—is helping businesses bridge the critical skills gap with customised learning and development programs.
In an exclusive interview with Asmita Mukherjee, Natasha Mehta, Head of Business Solutions—Asia, Sommet Education, discusses how the group’s institutions, such as, Glion Institute of Higher Education, Les Roches, École Ducasse, Invictus Education, and the Indian School of Hospitality are shaping a new generation of global hospitality professionals.
How is Sommet Education Business Solutions changing hospitality training to meet the needs of a fast-evolving global industry?
Sommet Education Business Solutions is a distinct consulting vertical of Sommet Education, the world’s largest hospitality, luxury, and gastronomic education provider.
Sommet Education has legacy and prominent institutions in its portfolio of education — Glion Institute of Higher Education, Les Roches, École Ducasse, Invictus Education, and the Indian School of Hospitality; which offer unparalleled expertise in culinary arts, luxury business education, and hospitality management.
We are transforming hospitality learning and development by delivering comprehensive, industry-aligned programs that combine academic excellence with real-world relevance to address talent volatility, skills gaps, and shifting workforce expectations for long-term solutions. Our tailor-made learning programs, executive education, and bespoke immersive experience visits revolving around luxury hospitality and experiential dining concepts empower organisations to train, retain, and reward their teams with leadership, innovation, and customer-centric skills.
Our global reach, with access to more than 300 expert educators and professional trainers, ensures that training reflects evolving market demands. Be it luxury design, experience, services, or sustainable tourism development, we make talent management a seamless journey future-ready and adaptable across sectors.
With talent shortages being a significant challenge, how do your programs help businesses attract, keep, and improve the skills of the next generation of hospitality leaders?
Sommet Education Business Solutions is addressing talent shortages by developing the core competence required to drive enhanced operational performance, support job transitions and manage learning journeys, from entry level to C-suite. We rely on Sommet Education’s brands: Les Roches, Glion Institute & Ecole Ducasse to foster next-gen leaders via dedicated programs that attract, retain, and upskill the existing talent pool.
For instance, our “Fast-Track Open GM” with Les Roches and “Women in Leadership” with Glion Institute are examples of targeted learning that build career pathways from mid-senior to senior & C-suite executive roles. With hands-on learning from global experts across our campuses or client sites, emotional intelligence development, and strategic design thinking, businesses benefit from a highly proficient and committed workforce. Our collaboration with globally acclaimed brands reflects how strategic training throughout an organisation enhances improved talent retention and performance.
What role does lifelong learning play in building a workforce that is both ready for the future and flexible?
Lifelong learning is vital to nurturing a workforce that’s resilient, innovative, and future-ready. Building strong leadership pipelines, breaking down silos and developing skills that elevate both internal & external service. Our business solutions offer flexible training formats including online, on-campus, and on-site, enabling continuous skill development at every stage of a career.
Ranging from our highly ranked Executive MBA to short courses in Food & Beverage Excellence, Leadership, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Luxury Hospitality & Customer Experience, Sustainability & Tourism Development, and Digital Marketing Trends, we address the needs of professionals who wish to stay ahead of industry trends. This culture of ongoing education enables adaptability, empowers personal growth, and strengthens organisational agility, giving businesses a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving hospitality environment.
How do your institutions, from top culinary schools to management academies, provide a competitive edge to partner businesses? Can you provide examples of how Sommet Education’s network of global educators and experts affects business performance and guest experiences?
Sommet Education’s institutions are globally acclaimed for their distinction in hospitality education. These programs blend academic excellence with experiential learning, providing businesses with top-tier talent and innovation under one umbrella. For instance, training chefs at École Ducasse elevates global culinary and Food & Beverage standards, Glion Institute is an educational benchmark in the business of luxury hospitality & guest experience, while Les Roches’ leadership training programs enhance management, innovation and operational excellence across various hospitality sectors.
This strategic combination results in organisations gaining a competitive business advantage on a global scale.
What makes Sommet Education Business Solutions the top choice for companies that want not just training but also long-term growth through their people?
We offer more than just training. We craft elaborate building blocks towards organisational upskilling helping brands gravitate towards a continued learning culture.
Not just limited to hotel operations, our portfolio of signature programs is focused on Hospitality Leadership, Ultimate Guest Experience, Design Thinking & Innovation Strategy, Blockchain in Luxury & Hospitality, AI in Hospitality Leadership, Hotel Valuation & Performance, Hospitality Revenue & Demand Management & Building sustainable luxury.
With business travel and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) demand increasing, how is Sommet Education preparing talent to create world-class experiences in this valuable segment of hospitality?
There is a renewed focus on making events sustainable, personable and tech efficient. Our short programs focused on sustainability, AI and personalisation in customer service are examples of hands-on learning solutions for the ever-growing MICE industry, globally.
Our educators bridge the gap between industry and academia through their expertise on the subject delivering programs successfully on client sites. We curate bespoke upskilling programs to train MICE organisations & their teams in soft skills, emotional intelligence, innovation & AI along with technical training of running successful large format events.
