23/09/2016

Hotel Industry Set To Transform With New Manpower And Skills Development Initiatives

Professional Conversion Programme and Skills Framework to help build Singaporean core of future-ready workers

The hotel industry can now boost its skills development efforts and talent pipeline with the launch of two new initiatives – the Professional Conversion Programme for Professional Executives and the Skills Framework for Hotel and Accommodation Services (HAS). These two initiatives were launched by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) at the Hotel Day today to create greater awareness of exciting job opportunities and career progression pathways in the Hotel sector and equip the workforce with relevant and emerging skills to support the transformation of the hotel industry.

New Professional Conversion Programme for Professional Executives

To further professionalise jobs in the services sectors, a new Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) for Professional Executives to help mid-career Singaporeans build exciting careers in sales, project management and administrative roles has been introduced. A total of 2,100 vacancies are available across hotel and other various industries. As part of the Adapt and Grow initiative to help Singaporeans take ownership of their career development to reskill and grow in their careers, the first PCP for Professional Executives will be rolled out in the hotel industry in October this year and will focus on grooming sales executives or assistant sales managers (For details on the PCP, please refer to Annex A).

First Skills Framework launched to meet demand in emerging skills and jobs

The Skills Framework for HAS is the first Skills Framework to be launched under the national SkillsFuture initiative. The Skills Framework is an integral component of the Hotel Industry Manpower Plan 1and aims to enable skills mastery in the hotel industry. Jointly developed by WDA and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the framework will be a guide for individuals, employers and training providers, and serve as a common reference to identify key skills and competencies in new areas such as digital marketing, data analytics, revenue management and business process re-design.

The Skills Framework will guide individuals who wish to join or progress within the hotel industry, to assess their career interest, identify relevant training programmes to upgrade their skills and prepare for their desired jobs. Employers will be able to recognise these skills and invest in training their employees for career development and skills upgrading. Training providers can gain insights on sector trends, existing and emerging skills that are in demand, and design programmes to address the industry needs accordingly. Information on employment, career pathways, about 57 occupations and job roles, skills and competencies and training programmes are available in this particular Skills Framework. (For details on the Skills Framework, refer to Annex B).

“With technology driving changes across the economy and the tightening manpower situation, it has become even more critical for the hotel industry to transform itself, and build skills and competencies for the future jobs of this industry. By doing so, the hotel industry will become more manpower-lean and productive for sustainable business growth ahead. We are pleased to work with the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to organise the Hotel Day, in order to create public awareness about the exciting career opportunities available in the hotel industry. WDA will continue to collaborate with strategic partners across different industries to enable more Singaporeans to acquire new skills and prepare themselves for future jobs,” said Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive of WDA.

A total of 33 hotel employers participated in the Hotel Day, offering over more than 1,000 vacancies in Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians and Rank and File job roles, including PCP vacancies. (For details on Hotel Day, please refer to Annex C)