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The 2012 "Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System" (MORS) Gold Pin Competition Award Presentation Ceremony was held today at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). Eng. João Manuel Costa Antunes, Director of MGTO, Ms. Noémia Lameiras, Deputy Director of Labour Affairs Bureau, Mr. Samuel Yeung, Chairman of Macau Hotel Association, Mr. William Wong, President of Macau Retail Management Association, Mr. Lei Pou Loi, President of Macao Hotelier Association and Mr. Johnson Chan, General Manager of Grand Lisboa Hotel presented awards to the winners. This year, there are 11 sessions of competitions altogether, including Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen), Bartender, Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate level), Chinese Cook - Dim Sum (Intermediate Level), Concierge and Bell Attendant, Front Desk Agent/Customer Relations Officer, Security Officer for Tourism and Gaming Industry, Retail Sales Officer, Room Attendant, Waiter/Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service) and Waiter/Waitress (Western Restaurant Service). The final round of the competitions was held on 19, 22 and 28 November at IFT and Grand Lisboa Hotel respectively. The competition adapted a process of elimination, with 3 rounds of contests for each competition. The first 2 rounds of contests were held in forms of written examination and skill evaluation according to the fundamental knowledge covered in the MORS training manuals. Participants without MORS certificate needed to go through the first round. In order to be admitted to the second round, the contestants must reach a minimum score of 75%, and compete with those who possess the certificate. Contestants with excellent performances in the second round from each competition will be invited to join the final and given the certificates. Contestants aimed at the 2 winning positions in each competition. Juries formed by over 30 respectful executives from the industry observed closely and assessed the contestants for the final winners. Winners would receive a MORS Gold Pin, MOP6,000 cash award and a scholarship of MOP2,000 for THS training courses. Launched in 2001, Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (MORS) is a joint effort of the Tourism Industry of Macao and IFT with the main objective to upgrade human resources in the industry through the introduction of a certification scheme for a number of professions. At this moment, skills standards are introduced for the following occupations: - Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen)
- Bartender
- Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Elementary)
- Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate)
- Chinese Cook – Cantonese Dim Sum (Elementary)
- Chinese Cook – Cantonese Dim Sum (Intermediate)
- Concierge and Bell Attendant
- Customer Relations Officer
- Front Desk Agent
- Retail Sales Officer
- Room Attendant
- Security Officer for Tourism and Gaming Industry
- Travel Consultant
- Waiter / Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service)
- Waiter / Waitress (Western Restaurant Service) To reward and demonstrate outstanding MORS recognised professionals, IFT has been organising the Gold Pin Competition since 2002. Participants can be Entry-level Professionals sent by each training centre or they can be entering by themselves. There are 30 organisations, 326 participants taking part in the competitions this year. Gold Pin Competition final round contests examine contestants on their practical skills and details are as follows: Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen) Contestants had to bring in their own ingredients to create a menu consisting of a starter, a main course and a dessert; the time frame for preparation was two hours. Jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, organisational skills, hygiene, taste, presentation and consistency. Bartender Within a time frame, contestants had to create a cocktail for 2 persons with the theme of 58th Macau Grand Prix. The jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, presentation, flavour, speed and consistency of the drink. Chinese Cook – Cantonese Cuisine (Intermediate level)
Contestants brought in their own ingredients to prepare 2 dishes (one assigned by IFT and the other one was created by the contestant under the theme of 58th Macau Grand Prix), the time frame for preparation was 90 minutes. Jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, organisational skills, hygiene, taste, presentation and consistency. Chinese Cook – Dim Sum (Intermediate level)
Contestants brought in their own ingredients to prepare two types of dumping and create one dessert under the theme of 58th Macau Grand Prix. The time frame for preparation was 2 hours. Jury team assessed the contestants on technical skills, creativity, organisational skills, hygiene, taste, presentation and consistency. Concierge and Bell Attendant
Quiz Bee and presentation were adopted in the final round. Questions were designed to test the contestants' job knowledge, information about Macao, tourist attractions, current events, language competence, etc. Front Desk Agent/Customer Relations Officer
Quiz Bee and presentation were adopted in the final round. Questions were designed to test the overall knowledge of a Front Desk Agent or a Customer Relations Officer. Finalists were also been tested on their problem solving skills. Jurors assessed them through their presentation skills, product knowledge, interpersonal skills & communication techniques. Retail Sales Officer
Finalists were asked to do a product presentation/demonstration. Their skills to handle complain were also been assessed. Room Attendant
The participants were tested about their job knowledge before they could make up beds. The jury team assessed the contestants on their knowledge, speed and quality of work. Security Officer for Tourism and Gaming Industry
Quiz Bee was adopted in the final round. Questions were designed to test the contestants' job knowledge, skill, guest relations, language and listening competence, etc. Waiter / Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service)
Contestants were asked to share/spilt a special dish of food equally on trolley and to serve afterwards in 20 minutes. Assessment was based on technical skills, knowledge, speed and service quality. Waiter / Waitress (Western Restaurant Service)
Contestants were requested to perform a Gueridon Fruit Service within a certain time frame. Juries based on the skill, standard of hygiene, posture, method, courtesy and speed to assess the contestants. IFT is a public institution of higher education that offers tourism, hospitality, heritage and events management degree programmes, as well as professional training courses. The main objective of MORS is to upgrade human resources in the Macao tourism industry through the introduction of a certification scheme for a number of professions, to the general public, so as to benefit Macao in a more competitive future.
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Consumer Council conducted a price check on 12 brands of beverages from 23 retail outlets earlier. Survey result showed that price differences from 23 percent to about 200 percent were recorded for the same product sold at different retail outlets. Survey data has been uploaded to the Council's 'Specific Product Price Platform' website and is also available in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. The Council collected prices of 12 brands of beverages from 23 supermarkets and convenience stores on 3rd December. Surveyed items include soft drinks, bottled water, beer and other kinds of beverages. The current survey revealed that 3 of the surveyed beverage brands, namely 'Cool Distilled Water/750ml', 'Bonaqua Mineralized Water/770ml' and 'Watsons Water Pure Distilled/430ml', recorded significant price differences of over 100 to 200 percent. Price differences of about 40 percent to less than 100 percent were also recorded in other beverage brands. The current survey also revealed that selling prices of beverages at convenience stores were generally higher than those at supermarkets. Consumers are advised to check with the data provided by the Council on its website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and its 'Supermarket price platform' apps to make price comparisons. The specific price survey on beverages is now available on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The 17th European Union-Macao Joint Committee meeting was held in Brussels on 4 December 2012, in accordance with Article 16 of the Agreement for Trade and Co-operation between the European Economic Community and Macao of 15 December 1992. This was the 11th annual meeting since China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). The previous meeting was held in Macao in June 2011. The Delegation of the European Union (EU) was headed by Mr. Gerhard Sabathil, Director for North East Asia and the Pacific of the European External Action Service; and the Delegation of the Macao SAR was headed by Ms. Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan, Secretary for Administration and Justice. Both sides reiterated their appreciation for the annual bilateral meeting as an effective forum to discuss issues of common interest and ways to further closer co-operation. During the meeting, the parties reviewed the latest developments in the bilateral relationship and took stock of ongoing bilateral co-operation activities, including in areas identified during the previous meeting. Macao informed the EU of recent developments in the Special Administrative Region, including the steady growth of its economy in 2012, the Hengqin project, new infrastructure development, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with Mainland China, and efforts towards diversification of the economy. The EU informed Macao of its latest efforts in addressing the sovereign debt and reforming the banking sector, including through measures aimed at boosting competitiveness and ensuring growth and jobs. On EU-Macao co-operation, both sides welcomed the satisfactory implementation of the EU-Macao Legal Co-operation Project, aimed at strengthening Macao's legal system and to enhance public administration, legal and judicial expertise, as well as the activities under the EU Business Information Programme, including its business councils. The two sides expressed their satisfaction with the successful launch of the EU Academic Programme in Macao on 15 June 2012, and the EU provided more details on the next steps of the programme. The EU Academic Programme aims at raising awareness and knowledge of the EU in Macao by supporting EU-focused studies and research, academic links and outreach activities. The two sides also welcomed the signature in Macao on 21 November 2012 of the third agreement to promote exchanges and training of interpreters. Both sides welcomed the adoption of the new copyright code by Macao and Macao's commitment to block retransmission of pirated signals in all fields, including through application of the criminal sanctions foreseen in the new code. Finally, the EU and Macao authorities expressed their shared intention to explore new areas of cooperation and to continue to cooperate in areas like environmental protection, cultural and creative exchanges, which have been the subject of initiatives and events involving both sides following the last meeting.
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In order to provide diversified training opportunities for industry professionals and further enhance management quality of the local service industry, Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and Cornell University School of Hotel Administration co-orgainsed an Executive Development Programme on Essential Human-Resources Practices for Managers on 4 & 5 December. The course provides a comprehensive opportunity for participants to learn how to manage the most expensive and arguably most important organisational resource: human capital. The programme focuses on a number of "best practices" for staffing, training and development, performance management, incentive systems and related human-resources practices that can be used to enhance functional effectiveness and improve firm performance in a wide variety of hospitality settings. The programme attracted 35 registrations from professionals of local hotels and mega resorts.
IFT has the honour of inviting Prof. J. Bruce Tracey from faculty of the School of Hotel Administration to give the lecture. Prof. Tracey acquired his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany. In addition to Cornell, he has taught in a variety of degree programmes in Finland, Singapore, France and Switzerland. He has also facilitated numerous executive education courses throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Focusing on human resources strategy and management, Prof. Tracey's research has examined a wide range of strategic and operational-level HR topics including the impact of training initiatives on individual and firm performance, employee turnover, employment law and leadership. Through the programme, participants gain insights and skills for operational and human resource managers in the hospitality industry. Topics include: - HR planning methodologies - High-performance staffing
- Compensation tools
- HR metrics and analytics
- Linking human-resources practices with company gold and performance IFT is always striving to enhance its research and teaching so as to contribute to the industry and the society. By organising seminars and workshops, IFT constantly shares with the industry the most updated information and research findings about the future development of Macao's tourism industry and ways to enhance it.
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Owing to the prevailing unstable situation Syrian Arab Republic, Macao Post announced that all postal services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet and Parcel) from Macao to Syrian Arab Republic are subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, broad money supply maintained its uptrend in October. As loans decreased and deposits increased, the overall loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking sector continued to slide. Money supply Currency in circulation dropped 1.4% while demand deposits rose 8.9%. M1 thus increased 7.1% from one month earlier. Concurrently, quasi-monetary liabilities grew 2.9%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, increased by 3.4% to MOP360.1 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 17.5% and 23.2% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 24.9%, up 0.3 percentage points from a month ago but down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. The share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 56.0%, down 0.2 percentage points month-to-month but up 3.7 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits Resident deposits rose 3.5% from the preceding month to MOP352.7 billion. Of which, MOP deposits, HKD deposits and other foreign currency deposits increased at respective rates of 5.1%, 3.1% and 2.9%. In the meantime, non-resident deposits decreased 0.2% to MOP124.0 billion while public sector deposits with the banking sector rose 1.3% to MOP42.2 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector rose 2.4% from a month earlier to MOP518.9 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 21.1% and 47.7% respectively. Loans Domestic loans to the private sector slid 1.0% from a month ago to MOP189.4 billion. Among which, MOP56.5 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP117.7 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 29.8% and 62.1% of the total respectively. External loans also decreased 0.6% to MOP212.0 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.8% (MOP1.6 billion) and 24.6% (MOP52.1 billion) respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios As domestic loans to the private sector decreased while resident deposits increased, the loan-to-deposit ratio for the resident sector at end-October dropped 2.1 percentage points month-to-month to 48.0%. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors was 77.4%, down 2.5 percentage points from end-September.
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Aiming to protect consumer rights by monitoring consumer markets, Consumer Council established the 'Code of Practice' for 'Certified Shop' retailers in the furniture retail industry. It is pointed out in the 2013 Policy Address that strengthened monitoring on consumer markets and enforced regulations, including the review of 'Certified Shops' mechanism, will be carried out to safeguard consumer rights. Consumer Council points out the importance of establishing 'Codes of Practice' for industries under its 'Certified Shop' mechanism, 'the 'Codes' not only serve as a channel to monitor the business of 'Certified Shops' but also establish a fair and harmonious relationship between traders and consumers, as the 'Codes' allow both sides to solve their disputes promptly. Businesses that are not listed in the 'Certified Shop' mechanism also agree the 'Codes of Practice' build up a positive image for their industries. The Council has established various 'Codes of Practice' for different industries in the past 10 years, the most recent ones include the 'Codes' for photographic equipment supplies and photo printing services, optical retail industry, and souvenir retailers (specialty foods). Consumer Council recently established the 'Code of Practice' for furniture retail industry in response to the increased consumption of finished/stock or custom-made furniture by consumers. The 'Code' includes general regulations for the industry, and two parts specifically aimed at finished/stock products and custom-made products. 'Certified Shop' furniture retailers believe the 'Code' enables both traders and consumers to pay attention to general problems arise from their transactions and helps avoid disputes. The Council indicates that the 'Code' is established based on the opinions of furniture retailers, the operation of the industry and issues from the most common consumer disputes related to the industry. As the implementation of 'Code of Practice' is one of the criteria in the annual assessment of 'Certified Shop', 'Certified Shop' furniture retailers are reminded to comply with this newly launched 'Code'. Further, in response to the changes in business model and clothing materials, the 'Code of Practice' for laundries and dry cleaners established in 2004 has been revised, aiming to ensure fair transactions between both retailers and consumers. The Council will continue to review the 15 'Codes of Practice' and revise accordingly for a fair and harmonious consumption market in Macao. The 'Codes of Practice' for the furniture retail industry and laundries and dry cleaners (revision) will be printed as leaflets and are now able for download on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo).
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Consumer Council recently conducted a price check on cooking oil. Both increase and decrease in price were recorded. Survey result also showed that price differences of the same product sold at different retail outlets ranged from 1.6 percent to 64.5 percent. Prices of 22 brands of cooking oil were collected from 20 retail outlets on 30th November by Consumer Council. Selling prices of the same product were found to vary in different retail outlets, 'Pietro Coricelli Olive Pomace Oil/1L', which was sold at $38.0 to $62.5, recorded a price difference of 64.5 percent. The current survey also showed that price discrepancies of 3 brands of cooking oil sold at different outlets had shrink. The surveyed cooking oil brands generally differed for 30 to 40 percent in price at various retail outlets. In comparison with data from September's survey, 7 out of all surveyed brands recorded no change in price. 'Tripod Brand Top Quality Corn Oil/2L' recorded a general price decrease of over 10 percent in many outlets, 'Knife Brand Pure Peanut Oil/900mlx3' recorded a general price increase of about 10 percent while 'Mazola Canola Oil/3.5L' observed price increases ranged from 5 percent to 20 percent. The mentioned specific price survey on cooking oil is now available on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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This year, 1045 businesses are awarded the 2013 'Certified Shop' emblem by Consumer Council. 13 'Certified Shops' with a score of over 95 are awarded as 'Class A Certified Shop'. Consumer Council added a grading system to its assessment mechanism of 'Certified Shop' last year to award businesses that acquire the highest class in the previous year, the Council hopes the assessment mechanism encourages 'Certified Shops' to make improvement and provide better services to consumers. This year, 13 'Certified Shops' are classified as 'Class A' and 1 of them has already been awarded for two consecutive years. The number of classes A- and B 'Certified Shops' has increased by 20 percent, making a total of 609 'Certified Shops' in the classes A to B, which amounts to approximately 100 more shops when compared to the previous year. The Council hopes all 'Certified Shops' are encouraged to earn higher marks and raise the overall standard of 'Certified Shops'. 216 shops did not pass the assessment and are not qualified for the new 'Certified Shop' emblem; the pass rate of 'Certified Shop' is 82.8 percent. Consumer Council will continue to enhance its surveillance on 'Certified Shop', better its assessment mechanism, set up codes of practice, and provide training to businesses to ensure continuous improvement of 'Certified Shops'. The award ceremony of 'Class A Certified Shop' was held on 4th December at Macau Fisherman's Wharf, over 50 representatives from different organizations were also awarded certificates for their continuous support as consultants of the 'Consumer Arbitration Centre'.
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The Government has set up an inter-departmental study team to look into old-age security mechanisms to cope with the challenges and impacts brought about by an aging population. The team came into operation today, according to today's Government Gazette. The team's core functions include reviewing current policies and measures on old-age security and to come up with proposals for improvement; conducting a comprehensive study on medical, housing and retirement policies for the elderly and suggesting tactics to improve the quality of life for the elderly; providing concrete measures to enhance the old-age security mechanism; promoting co-operation with non-government associations and private entities to support and assist in researches; following up and evaluating the progress of study and submitting a follow-up report to Chief Executive. The Director of the Social Welfare Bureau will co-ordinate the study team. Other members include representatives from Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, directors from Statistics and Census Service; Labour Affairs Bureau, Health Bureau, Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Culture Affairs Bureau, Macau Sport Development Board, Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Housing Bureau, Transport Bureau, presidents from the Social Security Fund, and director of Seniors Academy of Macao Polytechnic Institute. The study team may invite staff from other departments, private entities and academics to participate in researches. Moreover, it is empowered to set up special teams for specific research topics if necessary.
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