On the sidelines of IFT’s graduation ceremony held on 8^th October at the Tap Seac Multi Sport Pavilion, the President of the Institute for Tourism Studies, Fanny Vong, recognises that there is, indeed, an increasing demand for manpower, while at the same time acknowledging the received wisdom that job vacancies will first be filled by locals before opening up to international professionals once demand exceeds the number of residents available.

Some 700 students graduated this year from IFT, a higher education institution that is known for supplying employees to many local integrated resorts, and which is rapidly internationalising its profile and expanding exchange programmes. Current undergraduate programmes include Tourism Business Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Retail, Marketing Management, and Culinary Arts.

MSAR Chief Executive Chui Sai On believes that the nurturing of talent and deepening of human resource development is essential to helping construct a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure and building Macau as China and the Portuguese-speaking countries’trade platform. Over the years, IFT has been striving to become a top higher education institution providing international tourism and service courses. The government unswervingly supports the development of the Institute, giving full reign to its strengths and special characteristics, broadening its area of education and training co-operation, and gradually moving towards quality internationalisation.

This year, the Institute applauded its first batch of evening programme graduates. Vong revealed that these programmes are in great demand, and that IFT will be assessing whether to expand its evening programme offering according to demand, saying: “We’re thinking of providing evening class programmes in other tourism-related fields. If there’s a need, we’ll be very happy to consider offering more opportunities for working professionals to come back to school and get a degree”.

According to IFT figures, a great number of its students easily find work within their field of expertise. Former graduates from IFT expressed that students do not face great challenges when trying to find a job in the hospitality industry in Macau.