Host Companies Feedback on US Work and Travel Cultural Exchange Program Participants

The Summer Work Travel (WAT) program offers international students the chance to spend their summer break from college or university living and working in the United States. This study aimed to determine the feedback of the industry partners to the US Work and Travel Cultural Exchange Program where LPU students were deployed. Specifically, it described the profile of the host companies and WAT participants, determined the feedback of the host companies on the performance of the participants, and assessed the feedback of WAT participants to the host companies. This study used descriptive design with the managers and supervisors of the host companies as respondents. The study utilized the LPU final evaluation form used by industry partners to evaluate OJTs and company evaluation to evaluate the performance of the host companies. The study used frequency distribution, percentage, weighted mean, and ANOVA as statistical tools. Based on the result. Most numbers of the WAT participants were in the school year 2016-2017 and the majority are BSITTM.  They are assigned to the Food and Beverage Department mostly in theme parks. The host companies rated the WAT participant’s performance as excellent. On the other hand, WAT participants rated their host companies to a very great extent as to their work ethics, teamwork, and regard for people. In addition, WAT participants sometimes experience problems specifically if the distance of the host company is too far from the accommodation

 Keywords – Internship, Tourism and Hospitality, Host Company