SINGAPORE GOVERNMENT AND LEADING HOTELIERS COLLABORATE TO SET UP HOTEL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

5 August 2002

Singapore will open a hotel management school next year. To be called the International Hotel Management School (HMS International), this will offer post-graduate and executive development courses in hospitality education.

This landmark development is a joint initiative by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Raffles International Ltd. Other initial founding partners in this educational consortium include Far East Organisation, Pontiac Land, HPL Leisure Holdings Pte Ltd and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels PLC. HMS International will be chaired by Jennie Chua, President and Chief Operating Officer of Raffles International Ltd.

At present, there are no dedicated tertiary institutions for hospitality management education. The Tourism 21 plan has identified the need for Singapore to develop a world class workforce for the industry to realise its goal of becoming a tourism capital.

The aim is to develop tourism education as a key component of Singapore's vision to become an education services hub and a tourism hub. HMS International forms part of this larger effort.

HMS International will steer negotiations with the world's top hotel schools in the USA and Europe to set up training programmes that are relevant to Singapore and the region. HMS International aims to groom the talent needed to elevate the status of the hospitality industry.

"To raise the professionalism of our tourism industry and build on Singapore's status as an education hub, we will further develop tourism education in Singapore. Currently, we have a growing array of hospitality training courses at NTC and diploma levels provided by the Singapore Hotel Association, Temasek Polytechnic and some industry players. However, there are no post-graduate and executive development programmes in tourism and hospitality management in Singapore. To plug this gap, the Singapore Tourism Board has partnered with leading local hoteliers to form a new consortium, the International Hotel Management School Pte Ltd," said Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, who announced the formation of the HMS International on August 5. 

Enrolment is expected to kick-off in the third-quarter of 2003.

"Over the years, Singapore has built a reputation as a hub for educational excellence. Having identified the services sector as the second engine of growth for Singapore, it is timely that we exploit the potential in the area of hospitality education," said Mr Philip Yeo, Advisor to HMS International, who first mooted the idea of the school.

At present, there are two broad categories of tourism education, with schools and tourism-related institutions offering courses at the diploma level, and travel industry affiliated training centres offering skill-based level training. The main curriculum providers are Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC), Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS) and Temasek Polytechnic.