Nov 22, 2021
Commemorating A.C.P.’s 10th anniversary: Extraordinary launch of A.C.P. On Demand!
A decade of A.C.P.!
How it All Started
In 2011 the Ministry of Tourism together with A.T.A. commissioned the design of a certification program specifically for the hospitality and service industry with the main objective to provide correct and concise information about the destination product, Aruba. In July of the same year, a pilot program was successfully executed with a large group of people working in the industry. Since October 2011 weekly sessions of A.C.P. were scheduled, first through third parties and in June 2018 the A.T.A. made a bold commitment and established Aruba Excellence Foundation (A.E.F.) that is currently charged with managing and executing the Aruba Certification Program. Until March 2020 the A.C.P. was being facilitated in face-to-face group settings of at least 20 participants. Since its start in 2011, more than 9,000 people have already gone through the program and are ‘Aruba Certified’.
COVID-19 Pandemic and its Opportunities
The A.E.F. is not only charged with the execution of the A.C.P. but keeps revamping and updating it as well. Additionally, the A.E.F. develops other types of training programs such as Service Excellence, Storytelling and Sustainable Leadership for Service Excellence.
As the pandemic hit our island with its devastating consequences, the A.E.F. had to react quickly and accelerate its innovation projects to move its training programs to online platforms. All A.C.P. sessions were compressed in 45-minute sessions and the physical island tour was substituted for a newly developed 360˚ virtual island tour. With 6 sessions of each under 1 hour, the A.E.F. started to facilitate the certification program through the Zoom online platform. The A.E.F. did not leave it at that. The next step was to pre-record all the sessions, acquire an online learning platform and voila, A.C.P. On-Demand was born!
A.C.P. On Demand is ‘Binge worthy’
With the introduction of A.C.P. On-Demand, the biggest challenge has been resolved, which is that participants were tied to a schedule and time slot that was pre-described. Now A.C.P. On-Demand is available 24/7 and so the participant chooses the time and day to get certified. The only requirement is that the participant must complete the certification program within 6 weeks. After that the account expires, and the participant must start all over again.
One can say that the content of the A.C.P. On-Demand is ‘binge worthy’. Participants can decide to dedicate a Saturday morning or evening to get certified in one shot! Or decide to spread the sessions over a couple of days or weeks, depending on their schedule. The content of the on-demand program is the same as the facilitated Zoom sessions: it starts with the 360ᴼ Virtual Island Tour followed by Aruba’s Nature and People, Aruba’s History and Culture, Aruba’s Tourism, Service Excellence – The Guest and Service Excellence – Me & The Guest. Each session has a duration of under 1 hour. At the end of the last session, the participant is presented with a final exam of which the result must be a minimum of 80% of correct answers to pass and certify. The certification is valid for 4 years.
Who Should Participate?
Anyone interested in learning more about their island, the place where they live and work, are more than welcome to register and get certified. Since the start of the pandemic, the A.E.F. has been offering the certification program free of charge. This will be the case until December 31st, 2021; this means that participants must start and finish before December 31, 2021.
As of January 2022, the A.E.F. will start charging again for its services.
To register for A.C.P. On Demand go to www.acp.aw
