Far East Hospitality and Temasek Polytechnic collaborate on internship programme and L&D support

Dubbed 'Far More Pathways', the initiative seeks to address the perennial labour shortage issues in Singapore and in the hospitality sector.

Hospitality group Far East Hospitality and institute of higher learning Temasek Polytechnic have joined hands to build a local talent pipeline for Singapore’s hospitality sector.

Dubbed 'Far More Pathways', the initiative seeks to address the perennial labour shortage issues in Singapore and in the hospitality sector by mutually leveraging Far East Hospitality and Temasek Polytechnic’s resources and capabilities to devise programmes aimed at talent attraction and retention in the sector, building a strong and stable Singapore talent core.

Towards this collaboration effort, Arthur Kiong, Chief Executive Officer, Far East Hospitality (pictured above, left) and Tan Siew Kim, Director of Business School, Temasek Polytechnic (pictured above, right) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 18 November 2022 at Oasia Resort Sentosa, committed to the following:

• An integrated careers internship programme (ICIP) - a three-phase pathway for talents to undergo internship opportunities and secure full-time employment in the hospitality sector, and
• Learning & development (L&D) support - a suite of continuing education and training (CET) programmes to upskill the hospitality workforce.

Far More Pathways will officially kickstart from April 2023.

On the development, Kiong expressed: "Far More Pathways is one of our commitments as we seek to build a sustainable local talent pipeline to meet the manpower needs of the hospitality industry and, at the same time, ensure a Singaporean core is ever present in complementing today’s diverse workforce as Singapore continues to welcome talents from all across the globe."

He added: "It will help us grow a local pool of hotelier talents who will not only be equipped with future-ready mindset and skills, but also set on exciting career pathways, while being instilled with our standards of Singapore-inspired hospitality excellence.”

Sharing his sentiments, Peter Lam, Principal & CEO, Temasek Polytechnic added: "This internship programme will help our students be better prepared to tackle future challenges and provide them with valuable training and industry exposure. This real-world experience will also enhance the students’ chances of gaining employment when they enter the workforce.”

Far East Hospitality and Temasek Polytechnic’s partnership will also gradually expand into other potential areas such as sponsorship of education materials, prizes, and scholarships and co-development of research projects.

Integrated careers internship programme

Under the integrated careers internship programme, Temasek Polytechnic students will be able to apply for an internship and go through a selection and assessment process with Far East Hospitality.

Following this, selected students will undergo an internship at Far East Hospitality’s arranged properties, exposing them to housekeeping, front office, and central reservation management roles. During the internship, students will undergo an assessment process for suitable permanent roles. Selected students will then be offered a full-time position at the group’s selected property upon their graduation with their Diploma in Hospitality & Tourism Management.

Upon graduates’ onboarding as full-time employees, they will embark on a specially curated and accelerated career pathway for a period of between 12 to 18 months before their next posting — this typically takes between two-and-a-half to three years. 

This pathway will set selected students for various hospitality leadership roles, not limited to rooms division, revenue management, and sales & marketing departments, all while placing them as the frontrunner for hotel manager and general manager roles which typically take eight to 10 years to reach. Selected students will also be supported with a higher-learning education sponsorship by Far East Hospitality to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Business (with Honours).

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