Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 21 HOSPITALITY Imagine being tasked with hiring staff for a five-star international chain hotel from a community that has no access to running water. These are among the challenges Hilton faced in its continued expansion in Asia Pacific. With travel and tourism in Asia Pacific booming, the industry is now the employer of 8.7% of all jobs according to research by the World Tourism and Travel Council. By 2027, this looks to rise to one in 10 jobs, or 10.6%, and support over 162 million jobs. Hilton is no exception. With property openings in markets such as Myanmar, China, India and Sri Lanka, the company saw the opportunity to alleviate a worrying trend of youth unemployment in Asia Pacific and was prepared to take steps towards preparing suitable talent to work at its businesses. "We now know there are going to be 71 million unemployed globally, and nearly 290 million are 15- to 20-year olds," said Brendan Toomey, vice president, human resources, Asia Pacific, Hilton. In Asia Pacific alone, half the unemployed population is made up of young people. With that in mind, Hilton embarked on a mission with the International Youth Foundation, pledging to 'Open Doors' to the lives of a million youths by 2019. To date, it has connected with half a million youths across its range of programmes. "We believe our industry can be a terrific contributor to helping youths get a start in life. We have an enormous variety of opportunities within our business that can support taking youths off the unemployment lines," Toomey said. The result? The company has seen the millennial generation rise to become its fastest growing employee segment. In Asia Pacific, 56% of its team members are millennials, and in particular markets like India, this figure rises to as high as 81%. By 2020, the figure looks to rise to 70% of Hilton's entire business. Creating exposure To spur interest, Hilton has ventured into schools and universities to offer youths the chance to experience the hospitality industry first hand. It launched the Careers @ Hilton Week to offer opportunities from work exposure to job shadowing and career talks on employment in the hospitality industry as well as the learning initiatives that are available. In China alone, the event has attracted over 4,000 participants. and front-office duties, that is fully-recognised by Myanmar's Ministry of Education. Through the programme, the youths are supplied with books, teachers, classrooms and paid a stipend. HVTC's first graduating cohort of 24 last year have gone on to find full-time employment in Hilton's Myanmar properties in Nay Pyi Taw, Ngapali, and Mandalay. Following the programme's success in Myanmar, Hilton is looking at a similar model in China. Helping women get ahead In India and Sri Lanka, Hilton has Hilton's got talent – thanks to its HR How the hospitality company's Asia expansion saw it opening doors and nurturing its fastest growing employee base: Millennials. By Naomi Neoh Above: Going behind the scenes: youths get hands-on experience; Right: Hilton's partnership with Room to Read has supported the education of 600 girls and 26,700 students. Talent spotting Where attracting talent proved especially challenging with long- standing factors such as limited access to education and the stigma surrounding employment in the hospitality industry, Hilton took a step further. In Myanmar, the need to staff its then-newly-opened properties saw Hilton establishing a fully self- funded vocational school in 2015. Located in Nay Pyi Taw, the Hilton Vocational Training Center (HVTC) offers a 24-month training programme in key areas: food and beverage operations, housekeeping, forged a partnership with Room to Read to tackle long-standing challenges to improve literary and greater access to education for girls. The programme has supported the education of 600 girls and 26,700 students in Room to Read's Literacy Programme in schools across India and Sri Lanka. The partnership has also seen the first-of-its-kind formalised Job Shadowing programme for students of Room to Read's Girls' Education Programme, to provide participants exposure to various career opportunities within the hospitality industry. PHOTO CREDIT: PAULETTE WALTZ "We have opportunities within our business that can support taking youths off the unemployment lines." – Brendan Toomey, vice president, human resources, Asia Pacific, Hilton

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