By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Dec 1: Tourism and hospitality will be the main focus of Centre of Technical Excellence (Centexs) Lundu, which is the sixth Centexs branch in Sarawak.
Centexs chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani said on top of existing courses, Centexs Lundu will also be offering tourism and hospitality-focused trainings through its new Hospitality and Tourism Academy (Hata).
Under Hata, he pointed out, there are 18 courses based on the needs of Sarawak’s tourism sector.
They are the Adventure and Sport Tourism, Eco-tourism, Cruise and Riverine Tourism, Lake Tourism, Agrotourism, Major Events Tourism, Culture Tourism, Heritage Tourism, Creative & Art Tourism, Food Tourism, Leisure Tourism, Shopping Tourism, Digital Tourism, Education Tourism, Border Tourism, Business Events Tourism, Health Tourism, and Halal Tourism.
To drive and encourage investment in the tourism industry in Lundu, Sematan and Telok Melano, Mohamad Morshidi said the Centre of Tourism Excellence Lundu (Cotel) has been set up in Centexs Lundu.
“Cotel’s main mission is to be a liaison and facilitator for the collaboration between Centexs and the tourism and hospitality industry, with relevant government agencies, universities and the local community to provide a trained workforce.
“Cotel’s role is to assist local or foreign investors who need a trained workforce in various fields related to the tourism industry.
“For example, when there are investors in the hospitality field in Sematan, preliminary consultations with Cotel can be made during investment discussions so that Centexs can train and provide skilled workers required by the hotel,” Morshidi explained.
This way, he added, hotel employees can be trained beforehand so that investors can be supplied with skilled staff members by the time their hotels are ready.
Cotel can then encourage investments in Lundu and nearby districts as investors no longer need to face the issue of staff shortage.
“With Hata and Cotel, we have been able to create a tourism ecosystem that can support the efforts of the State government, especially in attracting investment and developing the tourism industry,” he said during the opening ceremony for Centexs Lundu at the campus here today.
Centexs Lundu was inspired by the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem. It was established and its construction in 2015 officiated at by Adenan himself.
The Centexs Lundu campus today can accommodate 800 trainees with seven lecture rooms and 14 workshops, other than providing facilities such as hostels, dining halls, recreation rooms, administrative offices, multi-purpose halls, and staff apartments.
Other than tourism and hospitality, Centexs Lundu also offers other training courses in the fields of Fashion Technology, Culinary, Traditional Beauty Therapy (Postnatal Care), Photography, Indoor Aquaculture, Hair Design and Makeup, Wireman, Welding Technology (3G), Android Mobile Application Development and Augmented Reality (AR). — DayakDaily
