InterContinental Hotels Group to launch Specialty Academy in Shanghai

InterContinental Hotels Group is establishing an Academy in partnership with Shanghai University’s Advanced Polytechnic College and two leading specialist hospitality education providers in Australia – the William Angliss Institute and Box Hill Institute. The Academy will offer a series of specially-developed learning programmes aimed at addressing the demand for trained talent in the fast-growing hotel industry. It will be launched in Shanghai in September, with plans for further introduction throughout Greater China.

The first course to be offered will be a two-year Advanced Certification programme that combines theoretical sessions by university lecturers covering a broad range of tourism and hotel industry topics, lectures by executives from InterContinental Hotels Group and internship exposure at hotels under the Group’s portfolio. There will also be a series of shorter four to eight-week certification programmes designed to enhance skills in the front office, housekeeping or food and beverage functions. On successful completion of the programmes, students will receive certificates from the William Angliss Institute, which are internationally recognised. They will also be offered employment at an InterContinental Hotels Group property.

Patrick Imbardelli, chief executive, InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific, said, “China is one of the most important growth markets for InterContinental Hotels Group worldwide. Since we first established our presence here in the early 1980s, we have been a champion of talent development and have nurtured scores of talented industry professionals and leaders. Establishing the InterContinental Hotels Group Academy is in line with our commitment to offering great career opportunities for local talent so they can take on senior leadership roles in the future. This will also ensure that we will have a steady pool of well-trained talent for our industry in the years to come.”

Tang Sheng Jiang, Dean of the Shanghai University Advanced Polytechnic College, said, “This unique collaboration opens a new chapter in tourism and hospitality education in China and will highlight the importance of quality training and talent development in China’s rapidly-growing hospitality industry.”

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