The IFT Career Day 2017 has proven that the range of employers interested in taking on new graduates of the Institute extends well beyond the tourism and hospitality industries.
The most recent of the annual job fairs was held on the Taipa campus on 18 January. The 22 employers that attended offered more than 600 positions. The positions were in several industries, ranging from tourism to logistics to telecommunications. The number of jobs available was almost double the number of IFT students expected to graduate at the end of the academic year. Another purpose of the event was to give Year 4 students taking programmes leading to bachelor degrees more information about employment trends in Macao.
Retailer of high-end fashions LVMH Fashion Group was one of this year’s newcomers. LVMH Fashion Group Human Resources Manager Mr. Jeffrey Tao says his attendance was part of his company’s policy of using various ways to find recruits and of endeavouring to make young people more aware of the brands it owns.
“Mainly, we are looking for candidates that have studied subjects related to retail. We will also consider those that have prior work experience in any related field, even if only in part-time positions,” Mr. Tao says.
Macao company MTel Telecommunication Co Ltd was another employer attending the job fair for the first time. MTel Training Division Deputy Manager Mr. Bill Zhang says his company needs a considerable number of sales and marketing staff, and that new graduates of IFT are among the kind of people it aims to recruit.
“IFT students have the expertise that is relevant to our company,” Mr. Zhang says. He says MTel would train IFT graduates in-house, giving them the ability to succeed rapidly in the field of telecommunications services marketing and retailing.
IFT President Dr. Fanny Vong says the number of companies without links to tourism and hospitality that are interested in attending IFT Career Day has increased in recent years. These companies value the knowledge of retailing and marketing displayed by graduates of the Institute, Dr. Vong says.
“In recent years, we have added courses centred on retail and marketing,” she says of the IFT curriculum. Dr. Vong says one consequence was the variety of companies attending IFT Career Day had widened. “In the past, they were mainly from the hotel industry, but now there are more participating firms involved in high-end retail. We are happy to witness that trend.”
The 2015/16 IFT Degree and Diploma Programme Graduate Employment Survey found that 81 percent of holders of bachelor degrees had a job 6 months after graduating from IFT. Over 3 quarters were employed in tourism or hospitality. Almost 9 percent had decided to further their studies.
The survey found that the median monthly pay of 2015/16 IFT graduates in employment was MOP14,900. In the fourth quarter of last year, the median salary of all employees in Macao was MOP15,000.
Brilliant future
Operator of integrated resorts Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd regularly attends IFT Career Day. Galaxy Entertainment Assistant Vice-President for Recruitment Ms. Joey Fong says her company is always looking for candidates for positions in several fields, ranging from surveillance to hotel front-desk service.
“IFT students are good, namely in areas such as command of English, logic and knowledge,” Ms. Fong says. Graduates of the Institute typically have a strong chance of being recruited by Galaxy Entertainment, she reports.
But Ms. Fong advises graduates to keep an open mind when looking for a job. “They should not only limit themselves to administrative jobs, or positions in marketing or human resources,” she says. “They should consider taking up more diversified roles.”
One of the undergraduates attending IFT Career Day 2017 was Karen Sing, a Year 4 student of Hotel Management. She was scouting for full-time positions in catering or event management.
Karen says some new graduates might spurn jobs that require shift work but these types of jobs often meant good opportunities for promotion. She thinks front-line jobs suit new graduates well. “There are more chances to learn different things, and that is useful for our career path,” she says.
Year 4 student John Chan is optimistic that a bachelor degree earned at IFT will open doors for him. He is studying Tourism Business Management. “I don’t think it is getting more difficult for young people to land a job in Macao,” he says. “And IFT graduates have an advantage: they already have some hands-on practice, and therefore companies are more willing to employ them.”
– EGL Tours (Macau) Co Ltd
– Four Seasons Hotel Macao
– Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd
– Grand Hyatt Macau
– L’Arc Macau
– Lisboa Hotels Complex
– Louis Vuitton Macau Co Ltd
– LVMH Fashion Group
– Macau International Airport
– Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd
– MGM China Holdings Ltd
– MTel Telecommunication Co Ltd
– Richemont
– Sands China Ltd
– Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central and The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central
– Shun Tak Holdings (Macau) Ltd
– Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16
– The 13
– The Nuance Group (Macau) Ltd
– Wing On Holidays (Macau) Ltd
– Wynn Resorts (Macau) Ltd
