Pastry and Bakery Diploma Programme graduate - Leong Un Pek is awarded a medal of excellence
IFT Pastry and Bakery Diploma Programme graduate - Leong Un Pek and Culinary Arts Management degree programme student - Chou Kit represented The Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) and Macao to compete in the WorldSkills Competition at São Paulo, Brazil from 11-16 August and gained outstanding results. Accompanied by IFT’s experts, Professor Mark Gibson, Coordinator of Culinary Arts Management degree programme and Lecturer Jeffrey Lao, Leong Un Pek scored 516 out of 600 (equal to 86%), and ranked the 8th out of 21 competitors, earned a medal of excellence in the Pastry Skills final competition while Chou Kit scored 497 out of 600 (82.83%) in the Western Cuisine Skills finale, just missing the medal of excellence by a mere 0.5% but still a respectable achievement. Their performances reflected well on both IFT and Macao as a whole, and it was a great experience for them to compete with and learn from the best in the world in a world-class event. Also, both the competitors and team members got the valuable chance to learn about the most up-to-date skills and hopefully can introduce the skills to Macao and share with their peers. The WorldSkills Competition is the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world. The competition attracts thousands of competitors biennially. It showcases and inspires world-class excellence in skills and introduces youth to a variety of skilled careers. The scoring is out of a total of 600 points, with a gold, silver and bronze medal in each category, competitors achieving 500 (or 83.33%) points are rewarded with a medal of excellence. The WorldSkills Competition assesses candidates in all-rounded aspects in different categories. Leong Un Pek, participated in Pâtisserie and Confectionery categories where areas including work organisation and management, cakes, gateaux and entremets, hot and cold desserts, confectionery and chocolate, miniatures, small cakes, pastries and petit fours, presentation pieces, modelling in various media were being assessed. Meanwhile, Chou Kit, competed in the Cooking category in which areas including , food hygiene and health and safety, ingredients and menu knowledge, preparation of ingredients, application of cookery methods, preparation and presentation of dishes, food purchase, storage, costing and control, customer service and communication were being assessed. They both had gone through 500 hours of intensive training in 8 months and practice in preparation for this competition and achieved satisfactory results with their hard work. IFT is the only higher education institution in Macao exclusively devoted to tourism and hospitality education. The Institute offers the largest selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor programmes in Macao, plus executive development courses and professional training. IFT has strong links with leading hotel and hospitality businesses in Macao and globally. The students can perform their internship in over 500 companies and organisations worldwide. Links have been established with over 85 organisations in 27 countries and regions. The international environment and specialised facilities on campus have provided the students for the best environment to gain theoretical knowledge and practical skills in order to take up managerial roles in the industry.
