THE Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) yesterday organised a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Apprenticeship Training Agreement (ATA) for NTec Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery and Services at the Serambi Bahtil' Hall, Tarindak D'-Seni Restaurant and Catering in the capital.
The event was attended by Haji Rani bin Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohd Yusof, Acting Commissioner of Labour, Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).
A total of 40 students are enrolled under the NTec Apprenticeship Scheme programme for Professional Cookery and Services with six companies from the hospitality and tourism industry; namely, The Empire Hotel & Country Club, Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club, The Rizqun International Hotel, Yi Yuan Ting Fine Dining Restaurant, Royal Brunei Catering and Millennium Restaurant.
In his welcoming speech, Dr Chin Wei Keh, the Director and CEO of IBTE, Ministry of Education (MoE), said that all the students will spend six months doing institutional based training at the IBTE School of Hospitality and Tourism and another six months doing industrial based training at their respective companies.
He further said that the NTec Apprenticeship Scheme Programme for Professional Cookery and Services has been running for two years now and has been receiving positive response from employers alike.
According to IBTE's Employment survey for the year 2016, it was found that apprenticeship programmes have an employment rate of 75.8 per cent, which is slightly above the average employment rate of all IBTE programmes, which stand at 74.5 per cent.
He said that one of the programme's key strategic initiatives is to minimise the skills gap among the Bruneian youths and the industry.
The apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job training and classroom instructions under the supervision of instructors and industry professionals, in which students learn both the practical and theoretical aspects of the job.
Such initiative enables the students to develop a more in-depth understanding and to achieve industry standards much quicker to improve the productivity and quality of the workforce.
He added that with the global travel and tourism industry's growth, and the government's efforts to promote Brunei as a tourist destination, there is great potential for local youths to join the hospitality and tourism industry.
As of today, IBTE's network of industry partners has grown to 63 companies from different areas.
Yesterday also saw a new addition to the growing pool of companies in the network – Yi Yuan Ting Fine Dining Restaurant, which signed the MoU as well as an apprenticeship training agreement with IBTE.
Achong Tanjong , Borneo Bulletin
