One hotel worker who has been through a previous career conversion programme, Mr Christopher Chew, said: “We had the opportunity to be exposed to various technology, such as the metaverse, using a green screen for virtual reality as well as the chance to meet other people both in and out of the industry.”
Mr Chew, who is the assistant director of sales at Mercure Bugis Singapore, said that he has been able to apply the skills and information he acquired to his job, especially now as more clients are looking for hybrid and tech-enabled options for meetings and events.
STB chief executive Keith Tan said: “As travel continues to recover, it is timely for hotels to reimagine their business models. We hope the Jobs Transformation Map for the Hotel Industry will help them envision what their hotel of tomorrow could look like, and we look forward to supporting them on this exciting journey.”
SINGAPORE - With travel and tourism expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024 but with changing demands and emerging technology, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) have developed a jobs transformation map.
Launched on Thursday, the roadmap will identify the impact of trends and technologies on job roles in the industry and help workers remain relevant and competitive, amid concerns that artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled automation and other emerging trends could heavily impact the sector.
Speaking at the launch of the Jobs Transformation Map for the hotel industry (Hotel JTM), Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said that STB estimates this year’s visitor arrivals in Singapore to reach about 12 to 14 million, and tourism receipts to climb to around $18 to $21 billion.
The hotel industry accounted for more than 20 per cent of total tourism receipts last year and is the industry’s biggest employer with 44 per cent of its workforce as of December 2022.
Under the Hotel JTM, resources will be made available for employers and employees to access skills upgrading and job transformation programmes. It will also enable hotels to redefine roles, and redesign jobs to take advantage of improvements in technology.
Dr Tan said: “We want workers to take on better jobs with higher pay and career progression.”
At the launch of the JTM, 135 hotels with over 18,000 local workers have committed to transform their jobs. They include the Pan Pacific Hotel Group which is piloting a three-year workforce transformation roadmap to achieve business and manpower outcomes.
The group will redesign roles, implement new initiatives to reimagine hotel operations and address manpower challenges.
Mr Chris Teo, second vice president of the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), said that the hotel industry, in particular, needs to transform as it tends to be reliant on manual skills and is traditionally a low-tech service industry.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry has realised that many changes are needed to improve efficiency, especially given the small pool of manpower, which is a shortage that needs to be addressed, Mr Teo told reporters at the JTM’s launch during the Hotel Human Capital Conference 2023 at Parkroyal on Beach Road.
Mr Philip Wong, general manager of Mercure Bugis Singapore, told The Straits Times that manpower is one of the biggest challenges for the industry, particularly in terms of attracting talent. He said that the industry “cannot depend on foreign workers forever”, and will need to draw local talent.
But as the hotel industry lags in salary compared to other industries, and with an economy where job opportunities are aplenty, hotel jobs struggle to be attractive to job seekers, said Mr Wong
He added that with the Hotel JTM, resources will be available to help workers upskill and climb the career ladder quicker, which will then translate to better salaries and opportunities for career progression.
But the change will take time, and support from hotel management and government subsidies will be key in helping to push transformation forward, Mr Wong noted.
