THE upscaling and rescaling of the workforce is important especially for those in the tourism industry, says Penang Tourism and Creative Economy Commitee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin.
Yeoh said this after witnessing the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sentral Education Sdn Bhd (SENTRAL College Penang) and Malaysian Women Tourist Guides Association (MWTGA) today.
“I am delighted to see the collaboration between the Sentral Education Sdn Bhd and MWTGA which would benefit the tourist guides, tourism sector and Penang as a whole.
“This initiative is congruent with our (state government) efforts as it does not only focus on conserving and creating jobs but also helps to enhance the industry.
“The reskilling and upskilling of the existing tourist guides to become specialty guides such as gastronomy guides, eco-snorkelling and virtual heritage guides will enliven their roles.
“Petace (Penang state exco for Tourism and Creative Economy) office supports this initiative and is ready to provide assistance in whichever way is possible,” he said.
Yeoh also said the tourism industry needs to be accelerated to another height to ensure that it can compete with other countries in the region.
“Therefore, we need to make sure that the quality of our people in the tourism industry can be enhanced.
“Post pandemic, we have now shifted from ‘promoting to mitigation programmes and this is something new.
“We need to learn to come up with the mitigation plans as they are crucial. Should there is an emergence of another pandemic, we will be equipped and will be ready to face it,” he added.
Meanwhile, SENTRAL College Penang principal and chief executive officer Dr Chiang Geok Lian said it was important to equip the tourist guides with the knowledge of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
MWTGA chairperson Erina Loo said tourist guides are not merely marketers, but they have vital roles to play in the tourism industry.
The MoU was signed by Dr Chiang, who represented Sentral Education Sdn Bhd, and Loo, who represented MWTGA.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi