<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Be flexible, NYP's hotel grads told
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Principal urges pioneer hospitality students and peers to be realistic, enterprising in downturn </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Yi Han
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ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHEN Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) hospitality graduate Toh Kai Feng applied for a human resource position at the Sheraton Towers Singapore hotel after her final-year exams in February, she had no idea of the competition she would be up against.
It was only after the 19-year-old was offered the job a month later, which she accepted, that she found that over 500 people had applied for that one post.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR
'In hindsight, I realise I was really lucky to have got the offer...My grades are above average but not at the top, but I think being more confident in the interview helped me.'
Nanyang Polytechnic hospitality graduate Toh Kai Feng, on getting a job that more than 500 had applied for
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'In hindsight I realise I was really lucky to have got the offer,' she said of her new job, which she added pays her a market-rate wage for fresh polytechnic graduates.
Pointing out that her internship experience at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Changi Airport helped build her confidence in meeting people and engaging them, she said: 'My grades are above average but not at the top, but I think being more confident in the interview helped me.'
Miss Toh is one of the 88 students in the first batch of NYP's Hospitality and Resort Management diploma course who graduated yesterday.
In all, more than 400 students from NYP's School of Business Management received their diplomas yesterday morning at the school's first graduation ceremony of the year.
Almost 5,000 NYP students from 48 different courses will graduate this week.
At yesterday's event, NYP principal and chief executive Chan Lee Mun urged this year's graduating class to seize employment opportunities despite the current economic downturn.
Calling on them to accept jobs even if they were not directly related to their field of training, or even if they were paid a little less, Mr Chan said: 'In challenging times like these, it is important to be realistic, flexible and enterprising.'
For the hospitality graduates, at least, the prospect of finding an industry-relevant position appears somewhat better.
With two integrated resorts set to open in Singapore in the coming months, 20,000 new jobs will be created and hiring is still under way.
Of the 88 students, 47 are furthering their studies while 19 are doing their national service. Most of the remaining 22 have found jobs, mainly in the hospitality and finance sectors.
Mr Chiang Kah Kee, the director of NYP's School of Business Management, too, felt that the local hospitality industry would continue to grow in the years ahead.
'We are confident that the training received by our students will put them in good stead when they enter the job market,' he added. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Principal urges pioneer hospitality students and peers to be realistic, enterprising in downturn </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Yi Han
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHEN Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) hospitality graduate Toh Kai Feng applied for a human resource position at the Sheraton Towers Singapore hotel after her final-year exams in February, she had no idea of the competition she would be up against.
It was only after the 19-year-old was offered the job a month later, which she accepted, that she found that over 500 people had applied for that one post.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR
'In hindsight, I realise I was really lucky to have got the offer...My grades are above average but not at the top, but I think being more confident in the interview helped me.'
Nanyang Polytechnic hospitality graduate Toh Kai Feng, on getting a job that more than 500 had applied for
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'In hindsight I realise I was really lucky to have got the offer,' she said of her new job, which she added pays her a market-rate wage for fresh polytechnic graduates.
Pointing out that her internship experience at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Changi Airport helped build her confidence in meeting people and engaging them, she said: 'My grades are above average but not at the top, but I think being more confident in the interview helped me.'
Miss Toh is one of the 88 students in the first batch of NYP's Hospitality and Resort Management diploma course who graduated yesterday.
In all, more than 400 students from NYP's School of Business Management received their diplomas yesterday morning at the school's first graduation ceremony of the year.
Almost 5,000 NYP students from 48 different courses will graduate this week.
At yesterday's event, NYP principal and chief executive Chan Lee Mun urged this year's graduating class to seize employment opportunities despite the current economic downturn.
Calling on them to accept jobs even if they were not directly related to their field of training, or even if they were paid a little less, Mr Chan said: 'In challenging times like these, it is important to be realistic, flexible and enterprising.'
For the hospitality graduates, at least, the prospect of finding an industry-relevant position appears somewhat better.
With two integrated resorts set to open in Singapore in the coming months, 20,000 new jobs will be created and hiring is still under way.
Of the 88 students, 47 are furthering their studies while 19 are doing their national service. Most of the remaining 22 have found jobs, mainly in the hospitality and finance sectors.
Mr Chiang Kah Kee, the director of NYP's School of Business Management, too, felt that the local hospitality industry would continue to grow in the years ahead.
'We are confident that the training received by our students will put them in good stead when they enter the job market,' he added. [email protected]
