Tuesday, October 24, 2006 LCC Tourism graduates conquer Singapore By Danny B. Dangcalan
SINGAPORE'S booming tourism industry has become a haven for the hospitality and tourism management graduates of La Consolacion College in Bacolod City.
"Singapore is the only country in Asia which offers free practicum program to graduating Filipino students of tourism management," said Gina Montes, dean of the LCC School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM).
Montes was resource speaker on Trends and Updates of International Practicum Training Program, one of the topics in the Career Enhancement, Training and Development of SHTM students, held yesterday at the Grand Regal Hotel.
Singapore is heavily enjoying its flock of tourists and needs more tourism managers and staff workers for its increasing number of hotels and facilities in its tourist-destination sites, Montes added.
Montes said as long as Singapore continues to be tourists-friendly, Filipino tourism graduates are expected to have a good working opportunity in that country.
"Singaporean employers prefer Filipinos over our other Asian counterparts because of our proficiency and skills in the English language," she added.
Montes said since the LCC-SHTM has been operational in 2000, the Singapore government has been supportive of its academic program by sponsoring its students for a free training in their establishments.
After their practicum most students have been employed in Singapore.
Currently, Montes said, the LCC-SHTM has 1280 students and is housed in a separate campus at Quezon Avenue in Bacolod City since 2003. It is the pioneer and one of the only two schools in Bacolod City offering such course.
She said the Tourism management course is second to the nursing profession in terms of demands for workers abroad.
"It is a practical course since our graduates can be employed anywhere in the world. Our graduates are now working in Dubai, the United States, the United Kingdom and in different parts of the globe," Montes said.
Other resource speakers in the seminar were medical technologist Lucille Joy Alulod who discussed about the Sanitation and Safety in the Hospitality Industry, management consultant Jojo Vito who talked about Trends of Human Resources in the Hospitability Industry and ministry coordinator Eva Solina who expounded on Image enhancement for Hospitality Industry.
Ruth Minerva Cruz, Negros Island Tourism president, was the keynote speaker on the theme "Pursuing a Career in Hospitality Management: An Instrument to Empower People for a Better Future."
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