Malaysia Tourism Council (MTC) has signed an MoU with UNITAR International University (UNITAR) to upskill and reskill tourism and hospitality workers who have been retrenched during the pandemic to prepare them for new job opportunities once international borders reopen.
“Investment in skills upgrading and training during this downtime is critical, as we seek to enable the industry to emerge stronger and transformed in the new normal,” MTC president Uzaidi Udanis said during the online MoU signing ceremony between MTC and UNITAR.
“The travel industry in the new normal is going to be very different from what it was. Travellers will do their research and buy their travel direct, bypassing the travel agent. To stay relevant, we must change according to the needs of the market. Travel agents have to be abreast with the latest digital technology, including AI and database management.
“With this collaboration between MTC and UNITAR, workers in tourism and hospitality businesses would be able to pick up new skills and capabilities to meet future challenges.”
MTC organising chairman and deputy president, K Thangavelu, said the MoU agreement is important to MTC for three reasons. “It demonstrates our strong support for UNITAR’s efforts to expand and strengthen its tourism faculty, it harnesses our people’s capabilities to create and apply innovative reskilling and upskilling solutions, and it is an important part of our continuing contribution to industry and community development in Malaysia.”
Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, vice chancellor of UNITAR, shared that the university is working with MTC and its key players to push Malaysia’s economic recovery plan for the tourism industry by offering hospitality-related courses to upskill employees and agency owners under MTC.
UNITAR is the first, and currently, only university to collaborate with MTC to offer a fully online learning environment for hospitality and tourism education. The Hospitality and Tourism Department at UNITAR will offer Diploma in Tourism Management, Diploma in Hotel Management, Bachelor of Hospitality Management, and Masters in Hospitality Management.
