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THE GOVERNOR expressed support today for establishing an international hotel school on Phuket. The school would help to counter the chronic lack of qualified staff at Andaman resorts.
''Phuket needs to overcome the shortage of skilled labor in the tourism industry,'' Governor Niran Kulayanimid said after hearing an outline of the plan.
He told Swiss hotelier and consultant Lothar Schudt at Provincial Hall today that he would help where he could with the hotel school concept.
Potential sites for the school include the Royal Phuket Marina or the Kata Beach Resort, but talks have yet to take place with prospective partners in the joint venture.
Mr Schudt, a 15-year veteran of life on Phuket, said: ''We want to build an international hotel school because Phuket is short of qualified staff.
''We are in the process of setting up a school now. It will be a long term commitment for the future of young people on Phuket.''
Mr Schudt said the next step was a feasibility study. He had just come back from looking at other schools overseas, he said.
''We have not decided on the location yet,'' Mr Schudt added. ''We are looking for a strong Thai partner in the joint venture.''
Phuketwan understands a potential investor in a hotel school will arrive on Phuket next week from Australia.
Mr Schudt envisages that three-year courses at the hotel school will cover all aspects of careers in resorts, including management to masters' degree levels.
All courses will be solely in English, with most of the teaching staff from outside Thailand.
''We hope to have not only Thai students but people from all over the world, especially Malaysia and Singapore, and there may even be an exchange with a school in Switzerland, where I come from,'' Mr Schudt said.
Phuket's chronic shortage of trained staff is likely to grow worse this high season with more resorts opening and competing for qualified workers.
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Trained Staff in Demand As New Resorts Seek Quality
People looking for jobs on Phuket can expect opportunities over the next six months as several new resorts open. Experienced staff are already in demand, as one recent opening shows
Trained Staff in Demand As New Resorts Seek Quality
Prince of Songkhla University, Phuket Campus, provides a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Business Administration for the hotel and tourism industries but has little support from local hotels and the tourism industry.
Opening an international hotel school in Phuket like the one planned by Mr Schudt will be for foreign students as well few rich Thai children only. The yearly fee will almost certainly be around 400,000 to 500,000 baht compared with an 80,000 baht yearly fee at Prince of Songkhla University, Phuket Campus.
So a new hotel school will not be affordable by poor Thai students, and therefore will be useless for most Thai people.
It would be more realistic to improve the student training courses at Prince of Songkhla University, Phuket Campus, to meet international hotel school standards.
That solution would help capable but poor Thai people to afford at reasonable cost the university hotel training courses.
Best regards.
Guy (Charlie) LIDUREAU
Posted by charlie on August 26, 2008 17:45