The Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) held 2018 Career Day on 24 January at IFT Taipa Campus. 39 organisations from tourism and service industries joined and exhibited at the event, providing employment opportunities and information, as well as the latest development of the sectors for IFT graduating students, increasing their chances of success in job hunting.
During the event, participating organisations exhibited around 1,000 job vacancies and offered employment opportunities to IFT graduating students. Representatives from the participating organisations introduced career prospects and positions available in their companies as well as arranged on site interviews for graduating students and participants. The graduating students and participants were enthusiastic about the event. Questions regarding employment trends and employers’ expectation were raised and discussed in the fair. The Career Day aimed to provide a direct communication platform between students and employers, allowing students to know more about the current job market and maximising their chance of successful job application.
The employment rate of IFT graduates has been satisfactory. A graduates’ employment survey was conducted with respondents of 2016/17 graduates 6 months after they graduated. According to the survey results, 84.2% of the degree programme graduates were employed, 8.5% graduates pursued further studies; 74% of the employed graduates worked in the tourism and hospitality sector, the median salary of MOP14,100.
Organisations participated in the event included Air Macau, AsiaHospitalityCareers.com, Christian Dior Macau Single Shareholder Company Limited, DFS COTAI LIMITADA, EGL Tours (Macau) Company Limited, Evolution-HR, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, Future Bright Group, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Grand Hyatt Macau, Grand Lapa Macau, Hello-jobs.com, Holiday Inn Macau, Hotel Lisboa and Grand Lisboa Hotel, JC Human Resources Consulting, JW Marriott Hotel Macau & The Ritz-Carlton, Macau, Kering Asia Pacific Limited, L'Arc Macau, LT (Macau) Limited, Macau International Airport, Macau Legend Development Ltd, Manpower, Manulife (International) Limited, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM, Macau Cable Television Company Limited, Regency Art Hotel, Richemont (RLG Macau Limited), Sands China Ltd., Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central and The St. Regis Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, Shun Tak Holdings (Macau) Limited, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A., Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16, Tak Chun Group, The Macau Roosevelt, Valiram Luxury Limited, Wing On Holidays (Macau) Ltd, Wynn Resorts (Macau) Limited.
Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 104 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 8 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. In 2017, IFT became the world’s first higher education institution to pass International Quality Review(IQR) from the UK's Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). IFT has been ranked by the “QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017” as the 2nd best higher education institution in Asia in the field of hospitality and leisure management and the 18th best higher education institution in this field in the world. In addition, IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).