Tourism, hospitality improvements targeted through skills training

While many people are employed in the hospitality industry their customer service doesn’t often meet Asean standards so more training is needed to improve their skills.
Deputy Director General of the Department of Skills Development and Employment at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Khornsy Mahavong, gave the advice at the launch of a housekeeping and front office operations training programme being conducted in Vientiane under collaboration between Laos and Singapore.
The ministry is targeting hospitality workers with courses which focus on capacity building to improve the quality of service in the sector.
Mr Khornsy said operators had to develop their customer service competence and administration skills, which would improve their ability to compete and make the sector more appealing to investors.
“Operators need to improve staff capacity, raising their service quality to meet international standards in the areas of food and beverage, restaurant management, front desk, housekeeping, tour guides, and travel agents,” he said.
The service capacity upgrade will be part of human resources development in the business sector with operators being the main beneficiaries as important contributors to a growing sector with increasing revenue in Laos, he added.
Laos is one of the most popular destinations in the region thanks to its diversified culture and abundant natural and historic attractions.
For several years, the ministry has worked with development partners including the Temasek Foundation International and the Skills for Tourism Project to strengthen skills in customer service to improve restaurant operations.
The Laos-Singapore initiative is supported by the Institute of Education - Education Services, Singapore, and aims to develop quality vocational and technical work values among young people and skilled workers, as well as foster technical cooperation in vocational/technical education and training between Asean member countries.
It encourages close cooperation between governments, industries, employers’ and workers’ organisations, and vocational training institutions, and provides a vehicle for the recognition of work excellence, with the aim of producing a new generation of highly skilled workers.
This year, the number of master trainers will increase to 60, with a further 180 trained via multiplier programmes, in the three areas of housekeeping, front office, and restaurant operations.
The Skills for Tourism Project is co-financed by the governments of Laos, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Switzerland, and implemented by Laos’ Ministry of Education and Sports and the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency (LuxDev).
Skills for Tourism supports improvements in tourism and hospitality, technical and vocational education and training, and skills development.
A particular emphasis of the project is to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds acquire the skills needed to work in hotels, restaurants and other areas of the tourism industry.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
(Latest Update March 18, 2019)