NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 21, 2022 / Las Vegas Sands
Earlier this year, Sands released its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which detailed plans for the corporate responsibility program for the next five years, including three new ambitions the company aims to achieve by 2025. Under the People pillar of the corporate responsibility platform, Sands aims to invest $200 million in workforce development over the next five years.
This ambition spans initiatives to spur professional growth and development for Sands Team Members, support higher education and other learning programs for hospitality professionals and the local labor pool, and provide resources that enable Sands' suppliers and partners to expand their capabilities and skills.
Cultivating the workforce of the future through a myriad of professional growth and development programs is one of Sands' top priorities. Key components include:
Driving Team Member Development
Sands Team Members are introduced to the company's global training and development program on their first day with the company beginning with onboarding to integrate Team Members. Programs support continual growth, from basic job skills and business acumen training to leadership development curriculum that cultivates future company leaders.
In 2021, Sands China introduced a three-year business leader development program to prepare associates for management responsibility through developmental projects and mentorship by senior executives. The program is the foundation for stepping into a manager-level position, which is then supported by a manager competence development program that incorporates subject matter expertise and effective team leadership. Sands China also provides an integrated talent-development program in conjunction with Macau University of Science and Technology, enabling manager-level staff to learn innovative management strategies from distinguished academics throughout Asia.
Sands also helps Team Members advance through outside education. In 2021, 46 Sands China Team Members completed the University of Macau's one-year diploma in business management, specifically designed for Sands China Team Members as a bridge between secondary education and a bachelor's degree. In Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands resort also participates in the SkillsFuture Earn & Learn initiative, which enables Team Members as well as hospitality students to obtain diplomas through an integrated on-the-job training and classroom learning program.
Advancing Hospitality Industry Professionals
The second focus of Sands' workforce development initiative is to help advance professional capability and service excellence in the hospitality industry and among the larger labor pool in the regions where Sands operates. In Singapore, Marina Bay Sands provides annual grants for students pursuing undergraduate hospitality degrees at the Singapore Institute of Technology, and 80 students have received a cumulative $296,000 in grants since 2018.
Similarly, Sands China offers the Career Experience Opportunities program, which provides university students with on-the-job training in various operational areas. Students receive professional training while gaining actual work experience and can become supervisory-level Team Members upon graduation, if they complete program requirements with good performance. Sands China also regularly hosts school tours, welcoming more than 3,600 students since 2014 from Macao and overseas universities to learn about the daily operations of large-scale integrated resorts and gain exposure to different careers in the hospitality industry. Sands China also provided funding to seven higher education institutions in 2021.
Other workforce development programs include internships, providing opportunities for students to work on real assignments for Sands' resorts, such as graphic design and video projects, supporting job readiness programs that serve Sands' regions and mentoring opportunities with company executives.
Helping Sands Suppliers and Partners Grow
Suppliers are critical to Sands' success, including the many local businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources to invest in growth opportunities. In Macao, Sands China supports Macao SMEs through its core initiative, the F.I.T. program, which has three key areas of focus: financial assistance, such as advance payment on purchase orders for Macao SMEs with limited fiscal capacity; invitational matching to help SMEs access new procurement opportunities through trade shows, events and other platforms; and training and development to build capability for working with large-scale enterprises.
Sands China also offers the Sands Retail Academy and Sands Procurement Academy to support high-quality training programs for the company's retail and business partners. In 2021, more than 400 participants from 50-plus Sands China retail outlets participated in modules such as service enhancement and manager competence development. The company also introduced several new programs, including a Celebrity Mentor Workshop Series in partnership with the Macao Government Tourist Office, through the Sands Procurement Academy to support SMEs, micro-enterprises, Macao young entrepreneurs and "Made-in-Macao" businesses. Since 2017, 330 suppliers have graduated from the Sands Procurement Academy.
Sands' commitment to being a catalyst for workforce development through professional growth and job skills training has already resulted in tangible impact. In 2021, nearly 1,300 Sands Team Members were promoted, and nearly 15,000 reached 10 years of service.
To learn more about Sands' five-year ambitions and workforce development initiative, please read the 2021 ESG Report: https://www.sands.com/content/uploads/2022/04/LVSC_ESG-Report-2021_spreads.pdf
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Las Vegas Sands on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Las Vegas Sands
Website: http://www.sands.com
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE: Las Vegas Sands