Sentosa Tourism Academy to train students for work in IRs
SINGAPORE : Around 35,000 jobs will be created when Singapore's two integrated resorts are completed.
But there may be a shortage of talent in the senior and middle management levels, according to the Singapore Human Resource Institute.
Trained specialists such as croupiers and card dealers are scarce in Singapore, so foreign talent will be roped in to fill the gaps.
"There will certainly be some transfer of knowledge and expertise from foreigners to Singaporeans, so we'll see some foreign talent in key positions initially. But as time passes, we'll build up our core group of people that will be able to sustain and grow along with the IR and casino," said David Ang from the Singapore Human Resource Institute.
There will be no shortage of middle management talent as well, as the Tourism Academy at Sentosa begins training second year students of the Hospitality and Tourism Diploma course from Temasek Polytechnic.
They will learn skills of the trade that go beyond just gaming, covering aspects of convention, exhibition, lodging business, food and beverage, and health and spa activities.
And the classroom? Sentosa, home of the family-friendly integrated resort.
With a training kitchen and restaurant, students at the tourism academy will get to work with the island's visitors, including those there for the integrated resort.
The Academy also hopes to attract more regional students now that an integrated resort will be built on Sentosa.
Philip Lim, the Tourism Academy's Deputy Director said: "This is something new to us, so we have to speak to the resort operators to find out exactly what their needs are for the future."
With recruitment taking place in about a year, hospitality and tourism students are naturally excited at the prospects and challenges available.
One student: "I think the casino gaming industry would be slightly more difficult because our syllabus does not cover the gaming sector. So there will be more uncertainty and more challenge as well.
"Currently, what we're studying or will be studying has got to do with every sector that will be available in the integrated resort," said another.
The Tourism Academy at Sentosa opens next month.