Germany’s largest private education group F+U Group visited COTHM to explore some possible avenues of collaboration between the two organizations. The purpose behind this important visit was just to uplift the hospitality education in Pakistan.

F+U Group President Hans-Dieter Sauer accompanied by Cathrin Jongen; International Recruiting Head, and Waseem Butt, the Minister of Parliament of Heidelberg, Germany, visited COTHM Head Office in Lahore to ink the strategic partnership. A Memorandum-of-Cooperation (MoC) was signed between F+U Group Germany and COTHM Pakistan & Dubai to provide Pakistani skilled youth with amazing career pathways and placement opportunities.

The delegates from Germany were accorded a warm welcome on their arrival at the Head Office of COTHM in Lahore. The President of F+U Group expressed his optimism on having brilliant graduates of COTHM to be a part of the hospitality and tourism industry of Germany to meet the challenges of workforce shortages. Being the largest private sector education group of Germany, it has the capacity to create countless career opportunities for the young graduates of Pakistan.
International Recruiting Head, Cathrin Jongen, organized an interview session with the students who had completed their course from COTHM along with B1 level of German Language certification. COTHM has also proposed the F+U Group to get Pakistani students enrolled in their apprenticeship program so that they may utilize their youthful energies for the better interest of both the countries. After completing their B1 level of German Language, the students of COTHM can proceed for three years apprenticeship program in Germany which leads them to full time job, permanent residence and nationality of Germany.

On this occasion, the Founder and CEO of COTHM Pakistan & Dubai, Ahmad Shafiq said, “this MoC has been signed to develop cooperation and collaboration between the two organizations to unveil immense opportunities for Pakistani students to avail quality education, training, internship, apprenticeship programs, cultural exchange programs and career pathways in Germany”. He also said that this collaboration would allow our students to expand their knowledge and skills and enhance their employability prospects.”
While talking to media, Waseem Butt said that COTHM Pakistan is a leading hospitality and tourism management institute in Pakistan, while F+U Group is the largest private education group in Germany and their collaboration can create an innovative educational platform that can benefit both the countries. He added that through this collaboration, students and faculties from both institutes would have the opportunity to participate in exchange programs, joint research projects, and academic seminars. The partnership might also offer students the opportunity to pursue international degrees and certifications, he further said.
F+U Educational Group International Recruiting Head Jongen Tatjana Cathrin said that she is truly impressed by the hospitality of Pakistani people and she would definitely love to work with COTHM.
F+U Educational Group Germany Chairman Hans-Dieter Sauer said that he knows COTHM and its CEO Ahmad Shafiq since last many years for their service to the hospitality industry. He further said that Pakistani youth is amazingly talented and their skills can be perfectly utilised in Germany. He also said that COTHM and F+U may collaborate in multiple areas to get Pakistani youth accommodated in the educational system of Germany. He also expressed his keen interest in setting up a language school in collaboration with COTHM Pakistan & Dubai.
The delegation comprising Ahmad Shafiq, Hans-Dieter Sauer, Jongen Tatjana Cathrin, Waseem Butt, and COTHM Director International Development Babar Sheikh also met Alfred Grannas the ambassador of Germany to Pakistan. Waseem Butt apprised the ambassador of the purpose and prospects of the F+U Group’s visit to Pakistan and requested him to support the cause for generating excellent career opportunities for Pakistani students in Germany. The ambassador appreciated both the organisations for thinking about the future of skillful Pakistani youth and assured full facilitation to COTHM students in the German Apprenticeship program.

German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas appreciated COTHM and F+U Group for thinking about the future of skillful Pakistani youth and assured full facilitation to COTHM students in the German Apprenticeship program.
In a bid to publicise Lahore as ‘UNESCO’s City of Literature’, City Parliament Heidelberg Germany Member Waseem Butt along with Ahmad Shafiq, Jongen Tatjana Cathrin, former Lahore mayor Col. (r) Mubashir Javed and COTHM Director Media & Marketing Fraaz Kasuri called upon Punjab Governor Baleegh ur Rehman where they discussed the dynamics of skills education in the province and discussed matters relating to the professional studies in both the countries. While talking to the governor, Ahmad Shafiq said that Pakistan is blessed with a huge number of young people and we need to put them on the path of skills education. He also presented the copy of Hospitality Plus Magazine to the governor that he accepted with acknowledgments. Waseem Butt apprised the governor of the rising needs of the skilled manpower in Germany and advised the governor to let the Pakistani youth know about the career opportunities they could avail in Germany. Most importantly, he reminded the governor about Lahore’s status as one of the UNESCO’s Cities of Literature and urged him to showcase Lahore’s literary potential to the world. Lahore is UNESCO’s City of Literature and the world must know about this city’s literary potential, he said. Governor Baleegh ur Rehman said he would definitely talk to the higher authorities and soon a dedicated cell will be established that would take care of the matters regarding Lahore’s status as UNESCO’s City of Literature. The governor also acknowledged the services of COTHM for producing skillful workforce and assured his full support to COTHM for the uplift of the Pakistani youth. After the meeting, the governor arranged an exclusive tour to the Governor House for the guests.
COTHM & F+U management also visited the Kinnaird Centre for Learning & Cultural Development (KCLCD) to discuss some future collaborations. KCLCD Head Muhammad Rizwan with his team welcomed the guests and gave them a tour to the Kinnaird College. Waseem Butt on the occasion said that Germany needs skillful Pakistani students and KCLCD can play a wonderful role in this regard. Hans-Dieter Sauer said that F+U would always welcome Pakistani students in their educational system. He also said that the group offers multiple pathways to the Pakistani students including internship and apprenticeship programs. Muhammad Rizwan said that KCLCD would definitely work with the F+U Group and would inform the organization soon about their strategy in this regard.