Singapore’re Workforce Development Agency (WDA) launched two new initiatives, to help job hunters and employees in the hotel industry.
The first initiative is called the Skills Framework for Hotel and Accommodation Services. The goal of the framework is to provide a guide for people to identify their interests, plan their career in the industry, know what skills/competencies are needed for the jobs they would like, and also learn about relevant training programs available.
Information on salary levels for various roles will also be available, to give people an idea of what compensation to expect.
For employers, the framework will be useful to ascertain what to look for in employees.
The second initiative is the Professional Conversion Program, which aims to help mid-career professional from other industries switch to the hotel industry. This will mainly be for roles in administration, project management and sales.
Under the program, participants will be hired and then taken through a training course, which will last approximately 5 months. The course will include lectures and also on-the-job training.
18 hotels in Singapore have signed-up to participate in the program. They will receive training grants and wage subsidies (up to 70%).
35,000 people work in the hotel industry in Singapore. At the moment there are around 2,100 job openings available in the sector, with 40% of these for PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians).
When announcing the initiatives, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say stated - “One key challenge faced by the industry is the shortage of manpower. With more hotels opening in the coming years the manpower situation will only get tighter. In the face of keener competition and to overcome the shortage of manpower, the industry is transforming and reinventing itself to be more productive, innovative and manpower-lean.”