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IFTM alumnus shares insights on career planning

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese
From MGTO to UNWTO: IFTM alumnus Benjamin Iong Kuok Un was recently a guest at the Institute to share his insights on career planning and development. He drew on his experience working at the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), and now as a Junior Professional Officer at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

IFTM held on 11 October a sharing session featuring alumnus Mr. Benjamin Iong Kuok Un, with the aim of educating young locals on the importance of having an active role in their career planning and development. The event attracted approximately 40 young people drawn from secondary schools and the Institute’s undergraduate student body.

Mr. Iong, who graduated from IFTM in 2010, talked about his own career progression. He works as a Tourism Executive within the Tourism Product Division at the Macao Government Tourism Office, and is currently serving as a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) at the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

The JPO Programme supplies officials for a variety of United Nations agencies. The programme’s main objective is to offer young professionals hands-on experience in activities requiring multilateral international cooperation, for periods ranging typically from 1 year up to 2 years.

Mr. Iong emphasised the importance of self-assessment and career exploration. He pointed to the value of having short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Young professionals should not only work hard to implement the career objectives they have set for themselves, but also regularly recalibrate their goals to keep them relevant, added Mr. Iong.

He also shared some insights on the importance of building skills useful for a professional to thrive on the international stage. The IFTM alumnus highlighted the value of networking, and of cultivating resilience in thinking, as a buffer against the setbacks that can commonly occur in the course of any person’s career. 

The sharing session offered students a unique opportunity to learn from a successful alumnus, and gain valuable insights related to professional growth and development. IFTM promotes early student exposure to career planning, to prompt undergraduates to make informed choices throughout their study path, allowing them to develop the necessary professional skills for a career in their field of choice.