They say learning is for life, and the day you stop learning is the day you stop living. But many can attest that juggling work, life and going back to the classroom is hard, especially in Singapore’s hospitality industry where things happen 24/7, and 12-hour shifts are common.
If you are working in the hospitality industry, take heart – it has now become easier to upgrade your skills and learn on the go. The launch of the Hospitality ABC (HABC) Network will allow the 33,000 workers in the industry to be equipped with ‘Accessible, Bite-sized Competencies’.
The network is made up of NTUC’s Hospitality and Consumer Business Cluster and 21 other parties from unions, government agencies, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), employer associations, business associations, profession-based industry associations, training providers and institutes of higher learning.
The cluster together with the Food, Drinks & Allied Workers Union and the Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union will take the lead in the coordination within the network.
The network will offer bite-sized competencies to help address the skills-gaps of workers in sectors such as attractions, hotel and accommodation services, clubs and resort.
NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing said: “We are already facing a manpower crunch in the industry. Whatever time we can get for the workers to take a break, to upgrade themselves in bite-sized modules, just-in-time lessons, that will be the most important.”
“Just-in-time” lessons or “speed-to-market learning,” as Mr Chan described it, is important as workers need to learn what is new in the industry as quickly as possible.
Flexibility
With the HABC Network, workers will have the flexibility to choose what to learn and how they learn them – these can be online lessons, face-to-face classes or hands-on sessions. The network will offer training programmes for all types of workers in the hospitality industry in areas of leadership, management, digital, technical and operations.
For more information on the Hospitality ABC Network, or registrations, visit its website or Facebook page.