Switzerland’s Vocational Skills Development Programme (VSDP) will provide free training on quality hotel services to 3,000 people in three-star and four-star hotels in Yangon and Naypyitaw, project officials said.
“Five star rated hotels have their own in-house training, so to improve the services of three-star and four-star hotels to be on par with international standards we will provide training at around 30 hotels in Yangon and Naypyitaw,” Peter Tshumi, director at Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), said.
In preparation for the program, 18 internationally experienced trainers are currently receiving additional training and when the program starts, trainees will take a one-week class to learn the basic skills of the hotel industry before taking apprenticeship for two months at relevant hotels.
The training program is expected to provide an opportunity for the disadvantaged population who can’t afford such training because of financial or family problems. The list of people enrolled in the training will be released soon, SDC said.
“Our ministry is very grateful for the program as it will address the most fundamental aspects that need to be improved in our hotel industry, such as human resources, management and services,” said Dr Tin Shwe, deputy minister for hotel and tourism.
SDC is currently working to improve service in the hotel industry in Myanmar, provide training on monitoring and accreditation of standards for Myanmar’s workers and provide mobile vocational training to reach disadvantaged populations.
The aid agency will also sign a memorandum of agreement with the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism for the training regarding hotel services.
The VSDP is financed by the SDC and will be implemented in Myanmar by a consortium consisting of Swisscontact and INBAS (German Institute for Vocational Training, Labour Market and Social Policy). The 7-month inception phase of the VSDP began in February, and the first phase of implementation will go on until January 2018.
The program’s Hospitality Training Initiative (HTI) component will facilitate the increase of skilled persons in the hospitality industry, while the Mobile Training Unit (MTU) component will improve competencies of disadvantages women and men in the Southeast of Myanmar, according to labour market demand. Another component, Support to the National Skills Standards Authority (NSSA), will complement these efforts with the development of skills standards and a credible system of skills testing and certification.
