Singapore’s industry leaders come forward to mentor young talent in a bid to retain them as staff shortage looms ahead. By Raini Hamdi
Saddled by the grave issue of attracting and retaining talent, Singapore hoteliers are taking the bull by the horn and going out in force to mentor students in a plan that is believed to be unprecedented in the global hotel industry.
The initiative sees the Singapore Hotel and Tourism & Education Centre (SHATEC) – which is owned by members of the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), comprising virtually most hotels in the city – launching an Industry Mentorship Programme that matches an industry leader to a SHATEC student who is keen to rise in any of the five key areas of hotel operations, tourism, F&B, pastry & culinary, and sales, distribution & marketing.
This early, no fewer than 41 industry members have signed up to be a mentor and fulfil the obligations outlined in the structured programme. Leading by example, most are right from the top – general managers, departmental vice presidents, executive chefs, celebrity chefs and business owners. While most are from hotels, the programme has also been able to reach an industry-wide audience, including such companies as Google Asia-Pacific, Trafalgar Asia, Silversea Cruises, Suntec Singapore and Lo & Behold Group, which owns and runs upmarket restaurants in the city.
The programme is championed by two prominent veterans, Tan-Wee Wei Ling, executive director-asset management, Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), and Diana Ee-Tan, director of Far East Orchard and chairman of Mt Faber Leisure Group. They chair and co-chair respectively an eight-member SHATEC Mentorship Advisory Council that includes representatives from the four large chains, Accor Hotels, Hilton International, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
At the heart of the initiative is the industry’s anxiety to develop the next generation of leaders. Tourism workforce has grown 5.5 per cent year-on-year since 2001, ahead of Singapore’s workforce growth of 3.3 per cent per year in the past three decades, which is expected to slow to one to two per cent per year till 2020. Based on new rooms opening, a shortfall of 3,000 workers or 10 per cent of the sector’s current workforce is looming.
In the region, it has been well-documented that Singapore particularly has a chronic issue of attracting talent to hotels, a problem that evades countries such as the Philippines or Thailand. Perceptions linger of long hours, and even longer ones to advance in what has been an industry charted and led by Westerners.
But Asian owners are viewing local talent with fresh eyes, said Tan-Wee. “There has been a sea change of heart. Asia is booming. Before we served Western high tea, now we serve Chinese high tea. Owners also see that many Asians have been appointed to senior roles overseas, so why not appoint them here?” she said.
PPHG in February this year appointed two locals, Gino Tan and Tina Sim, to head its flagship Pan Pacific and Parkroyal hotels in Singapore respectively. Other homegrowns including the Park Hotel Group and Far East Orchard also have predominantly locals helming their hotels.
But what has mentorship to do with it? Both Tan-Wee and Ee-Tan said the value of guiding, coaching and inspiring a young person to achieve his/her true passion was key to retaining and developing local talent. Ee-Tan gave a recent example arising from the programme: a student has dreams to open a restaurant after graduating. Her mentor is a hotel F&B leader who gave her solid advice as what the financials could look like and coached her on the areas she needed to focus on in her studies at SHATEC.
Said Ee-Tan: “Besides giving technical knowledge guidance, support to mentees during their workplace internships, or when they begin their first jobs, mentors with their years of experience can provide priceless guidance to mentees on career planning and development and when the mentor-mentee relationship is well matched, it can extend beyond student days, as a mentee progresses along his or her career path.”
For the inaugural launch, 23 students were matched with a mentor for a duration of one year. “As this is the first time we are rolling out the programme, we have deliberately kept the number small,” said Margaret Heng, CEO of SHA and SHATEC.
The programme is open to all students who have completed at least one term of studies in their respective courses. To ensure commitment, students must apply and the application requires a recommendation from course tutors, who look at attitude, conduct and passion in developing a career in the industry.
Unsurprisingly though, those who applied in the first batch were students who had better grades. “We are encouraging the SHATEC management to reach out widely, with the message that all students regardless of their grades will be welcomed wholeheartedly into the programme and the ones with lesser grades should not exclude themselves,” said Ee-Tan.
Ideally, there should be a mentor for every student, but the champions of the programme would be just happy if, by the end of the first year, 25 per cent of a graduating cohort had a mentor.
That means developing a larger pool of mentors. Being the training arm of SHA, Heng is confident more will come forward. She said: “The mentors approached (thus far) were very gracious and accepted the invitation wholeheartedly. For example, upon attending the first Advisory Council meeting, of which she is a member, Tash Tobias (general manager of InterContinental Hotel Singapore), immediately recommended an additional five mentors from IHG, many of them at general manager and director level.
“As the programme matures and stabilises, we hope to broaden the network of mentors.”
Mentors like Michael Tan, director F&B-west zone hotels and MICE of Resorts World Sentosa, just “want to give back to the industry and help to provide more opportunities for people who are passionate and deserving”. Twenty-three years ago, he was given the opportunity to study at SHATEC by no other than PPHG’s Tan-Wee herself.
“I believe we all have a part to play in building the next generation. As the saying goes, ‘we rise by lifting others’; society as a whole will not progress unless we extend a helping hand.
“A structured mentorship programme is needed as it gives both the mentor and mentee a guideline to go by, and ensures that proper accordance and channels are in place to achieve the best outcome. This also helps to accredit the mentee, allowing him/her access to a wider range of platforms and programmes that they can pursue to further their career journey in their respective industries,” said Tan.
Asked how they would measure the success of the programme, Tan-Wee and Ee-Tan gave three yardsticks: has the student’s knowledge of their course and studies expanded with the coaching by their mentors?; has it helped de-mystify the hotel management hierarchies and create greater confidence in students to engage senior leaders?; and have opportunities to speak with and network with senior industry players and leaders helped them with internship at the workplace and with transition to the business or working environment?
This article was first published in TTG Asia, November 13, 2015 issue, on page 4. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
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