Hotel jobs in great demand

Sabah government “smart partnership” with Rasa Ria pays off

By Olivia Peter
Pictures by Ng Jia Xiang

Cooking is his passion. And so Rommy Miun, 20, is on his way to fulfill his dream of becoming a great chef. He now works as a cook with Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort in Tuaran, about 30km from Kota Kinabalu, after six months of training with the hotel. Deputy chief minister Dr Yee Moh Chai is happy that his government’s 15-year training collaboration with Rasa Ria has attracted many young Sabahans like Miun to the industry.

Under a 1996 “smart partnership”, the human resource development department of Dr Yee’s ministry of resource development and information technology and Rasa Ria’s HELP have trained 1,228 school leavers for hospitality work. The jobs range from the front office to the kitchen and housekeeping. HELP stands for hospitality engagement learning programme.

Timothy Wright, Rasa Ria’s general manager, says 450 are working in his resort. The rest have found jobs elsewhere. His hotel has two intakes of about 25 each a year. The latest training programme has attracted 176 applicants, seven times more than Rasa Ria can take.

“This is very good indeed,” said Dr Yee who recently presented certificates to 69 of last year’s graduates. “This shows that many youth are interested in a hospitality career.”

Dr Yee is pleased that monthly training allowance of trainees has increased by 100 ringgit ($32) to 700 ringgit. The Sabah government pays them a monthly incentive of 200 ringgit. The rest comes from Rasa Ria.

“We hope the higher allowance will attract more youth to the training programme,” he said.

Speaking to the graduates, Dr Yee said: “Six months ago, all of you were new to the industry. You came here with zero knowledge and with very low confidence. Now you are full of confidence and ready to perform your job well in your chosen field.”

Indeed, graduates like Mium and Elizabeth Ong, 19, of Keningau, are adept at cooking Chinese, Indian, Malay and Japanese food. They are also conversant in English as they are trained to speak the language.

Slightly more than 15,000 Sabahans are employed in frontline jobs in hotels and restaurants such as waiting at tables, receiving guests, housekeeping, cooking and helping out in the kitchen, according to industry officials.

But the industry is short of these workers as more hotels are springing up. There are at least 10 new hotels that are due to open in Kota Kinabalu, adding to the 274 in Sabah. Eight of them are rated 5-star.

Yet not all trainees find permanent jobs with Rasa Ria. Elizabeth, for example, has to return to her family in Keningau. “But I’m sure I can find a hotel and catering job in my hometown,” she says.

Wright says 16 of last year’s trainees have permanent jobs in his resort. Of the past three years’ 169 graduates, 44 of them work at Rasa Ria. – Insight Sabah

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