To further promote the development of " Tourism + Gastronomy" and enhance the overall competitiveness of local tourism talents, the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MGM – with the support of the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ). Under the collaboration, IFTM and MGM will jointly organise several youth talent development programmes over the next three years, aiming to lay a solid foundation for the professional development of Macao's youth. The first joint initiative, namely the "Creative Cities of Gastronomy – MGM Food and Beverage Professional Career Programme Series", is designed to cultivate high-quality catering professionals in Macao. During the programme, MGM has tailored a series of fast-track training sessions for IFTM students in culinary arts management, including on-the-job training and internships, while participants may also enjoy the opportunity for employment at MGM. In addition, MGM donated kitchen equipment worth MOP 1.5 million to IFTM, for the sake of optimising the institute’s kitchen facilities and education standard.
The MOU signing ceremony was held at IFTM's Mong-Há Campus and attended by a line-up of guests, including Sun Yaohua, Director of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR; Wong Ka Ki, Deputy Director of DSEDJ; Fanny Vong, President of IFTM; Connie Loi, Vice President of IFTM; Diamantina Luíza do Rosário Sá. Coimbra, Vice President of IFTM; Wendy Yu, Executive Vice President of Human Resources of MGM; Keith Lei, Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Sustainability of MGM; Irene Wong, Senior Vice President of Public & Community Relations of MGM; Francis Tan, Vice President of Learning & Talent Management of MGM; Geoffrey Simmons, Vice President of Food & Beverage of MGM; as well as IFTM faculty members and students and MGM's management team. Following the ceremony, a seminar on MGM's food safety management system was held on-site, where Winston Yeung, Executive Director of Safety of MGM, shared relevant knowledge and skills to help students enhance their understanding of the industry.
Fanny Vong, President of IFTM, said IFTM has always been leveraging its advantages to cultivate industry talents. This collaboration with MGM aims to provide more training opportunities for the Culinary Arts Management students, broadening their horizons, and thus nurturing more industry elites for MGM and various sectors of society. IFTM will encourage students to sign up for the programme that enables them to keep tabs on industry trends and continuously improve their skills and employment competitiveness. Besides, IFTM would like to express its gratitude for MGM's donation of kitchen equipment. Such a move shows MGM’s support to advance the city’s education development. IFTM is looking forward to working closely with MGM to jointly promote the diversified development of 'Tourism + Gastronomy' and bring new impetus to the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
Wendy Yu, Executive Vice President of Human Resources of MGM, said MGM has always been committed to nurturing talents in the local tourism industry through innovative and diverse approaches. MGM has proactively joined hands with various parties all along to cultivate tourism professionals. This time, MGM is delighted to establish such a long-term collaboration with IFTM, leveraging the synergy between academic and business sectors, to provide local culinary students with upskilling opportunities. Besides, MGM made special donations of kitchen equipment to the institute. Through such an overarching approach, MGM both aspires to promote the professional development of local catering talents, and further enhance the charm of this UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.