SHATEC, the hotel and tourism school of the Singapore Hotel Association, turns 30 years old on July 2. The pioneer in hospitality training and education has produced many leaders who now helm the industry in the region and beyond. Here are five of them and their tips on how to make it to the top*
* Excerpts from SHATEC’s commemorative book, written by Raini Hamdi, which will be presented during SHATEC’s 30th anniversary dinner at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore on July 2, 2013
Arthur Kiong
CEO
Far East Hospitality, Singapore
How did you find your job calling and what does it take to rise to the top?
I never started out wanting to be in the hotel business. It’s an industry I stumbled into – the opportunity was there and I was available. I think life is very much like that even though I am quite the meticulous planner. However, as the adage goes: Man proposes but God disposes.
Many people say, “follow your dreams, do what you love”. I learnt to love what I do and as a result lived my dream.
What’s your mantra?
In everything, give thanks.
What’s your advice to young graduates?
Nobody owns your career but you. You must know your strengths and limitations. Work on your strengths and manage your limitations.
In the first few years, work for strong brands. It will teach you systems and expose you to good practices.
Architect your resume but be careful not to job hop, you need to stay a minimum of two years in a company to build credibility and capability.
Take on the challenging assignments. Work overseas. Volunteer to do the hard stuff that others are intimidated by.
Always look for the strengths in others and make their weaknesses irrelevant.
While climbing the ladder to career success, never kiss up and kick down. Relationships are important and what goes around, comes around.
Always perform a level up. Do more than you are paid and you will end up being paid more than what you do.
Success is proportionate to your ability to conceptualise, your conviction to persuade and your courage to execute. Master all 3Cs.
Always question the status quo and challenge yourself to find a better way to achieve the desired outcome.
Never make money your primary motivator. Find a better reason.
Nicholas Lim
President-Asia
The Travel Corporation, Singapore
How did you find your job calling and what does it take to rise to the top?
I was just 12 years old and worked as a door boy at a local five-star hotel over Christmas as the management felt it was nice to have young boys greeting guests during the festive season.
That vacation job kickstarted my passion for the industry. Once I tried to be an engineer, but it was dreadful. So I decided to jumpstart my career in the industry and studied at SHATEC. And when I returned to the industry, it felt good and right.
What’s your mantra?
Your people (team), brand and bottomline matter. Everything else is secondary.
What’s your advice to young graduates?
You must constantly have the desire to excel and grow. Leave your Facebook and Twitter at home, read business publications and expand your mind. You are hired based on what you can contribute to the organisation, not how popular or how many ‘likes’ or ‘friends’ you have.
Kellvin Ong
Project director,
South Beach Hotel & Club, Singapore
How did you find your job calling and what does it take to rise to the top?
After spending six years with the Republic of Singapore Navy, I was looking to pursue a new career and came across a Hyatt advertisement. When they asked me what position I was looking for, I immediately replied front office manager! I didn’t know what it took to be one.
They offered me a position of front desk clerk.
After working for nearly a year, the hotel sponsored me to join SHATEC as its pioneer batch, in NTC-2 in Front Office course. The course gave me better insights into what the industry had to offer. I worked my way up from entry level to tour coordinator, sales manager, regional sales manager, conventions & incentives sales manager, director of sales, director of marketing, financial controller, EAM – F&B and Rooms, VP – Development and finally general manager with various chains.
What’s your mantra?
“When given lemons, make lemonade. Life is all about challenges; it’s what you make them out to be.”
What’s your advice to young graduates?
Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.
Nikheel Advani
COO and principal
Grace Bay Resorts, Turks & Caicos Islands
How did you find your job calling and what does it take to rise to the top?
I was planning to be an engineer and at the age of 16 my father had a heart-to-heart conversation with me about the “value of money”, “how he was rich and I was not” and “I had to go out and earn my living”. He was generous though; he said I could stay at home and he would pay for any education that I qualified for anywhere in the world.
While I was studying engineering, I did private catering for European embassies and worked at luxury hotels as a banquet waiter, bartender and dishwasher in the stewarding departments. It was an amazing experience and I just loved it – serving Chinese banquet dinners, taking care of VIPs at the embassies, mixing cocktails at weddings and dishwashing till the wee hours of the morning with a diverse team. A year went by and I sat down with my folks and told them that I loved this work more than engineering and I wanted to pursue a professional career in this industry. They were both supportive and in July 1989, I joined the F&B programme at SHATEC. It changed my life and gave me the solid foundation to build upon and made me the leader I am today.
This foundation, hard work and great mentors were the secrets of my success.
What’s your mantra?
1. Always have a vision – if you don’t know where you are going you are not going to get there;
2. Work hard and work smart – you need both to get to the top;
3. Always take time to praise your team members who give it their best shot – you will be surprised at the quantum leap in performance.
What’s your advice to young graduates?
Always have great mentors throughout your whole career. There are leaders who take a personal interest in your growth and provide guidance and wisdom through their years of experience. Here is what one of my mentors told me: In your 20s, it is all about experience. Volunteer and be proactive in getting any additional experience in the business that you can, even if it doesn’t pay well.
In your 30s, it is all about position. Grow within your department and be exposed to as many positions within the business in an upward accent within the organisation until you reach the top.
In your 40s, it is all about making money and achieving results through your team members.
In your 50s, it is time to give back to the community, to the industry, to your country and leave a legacy! So far this advice has been invaluable to my success!
Justin Quek
Director
QBS Dining Concepts and principal chef
Sky on 57, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
How did you find your job calling and what does it take to rise to the top?
My travels and curiosity about the world shaped my culinary path.
I grew up in the Queen’s Street/Bugis area, tending to my parent’s fruit stall and developing a love for and familiarity with local food. At the age of 20, I joined the merchant marine as a steward. I remembered being fascinated by how simple ingredients could be turned into gourmet meals. This fascination eventually became a passion and I started teaching myself to make everything I could think of – breads, pastries, classic dishes, etc, from the different countries we docked at.
After this little adventure, I enrolled at SHATEC and trained at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore and The Oriental Bangkok (now Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok). A cooking tour of France followed and I found myself working in famed kitchens like Roland Mazere’s Le Centenaire and at Jean Bardet in the Loire Valley, among others.
I ended off my year in France by training in England at the Roux brothers’ restaurants, Le Gavroche in London and Waterside Inn in Berkshire. This was when I also picked up the French language.
It was my insatiable hunger to learn new things and explore the unknown that finally led me back to Singapore to carve out the path to where I am now. In 1994, I co-founded Les Amis, a French restaurant, with my good friend Ignatius Chan, and stayed there for nearly a decade before opening my own restaurants in Taipei and Shanghai. Life has been good to me, especially since I’ve had little formal schooling after leaving school at the age of 16.
What’s your mantra?
Always work hard and never give up. Learn from the best and never take for granted any advice given to you. Better yourself through your mistakes.
What’s your advice to young graduates?
In addition to the good foundation you have built, you need to be open to criticism – this is how you learn the most. If you learn from the mistakes you make, it will make you a better person. Finally, go out and try other chefs’ cuisines. Learn from them because if you don’t, you won’t be able to improve and you won’t have a point of comparison between your cuisine and theirs.
