Top notched professional knowledge acquired in the classroom is as critical as skills gained through field experience – and that is the School D’Hospitality’s winning formula to preparing its students for a rewarding and exciting career in the flourishing hospitality and casino industry.

With the forthcoming debut of the two integrated resorts (IRs), the tourism and hospitality in Singapore is set for an exciting transformation.

SD’H field trip to The Venetian @ Macau, June 2009

The two IRs are already aggressively hiring particularly for the positions of casino croupiers. Marina Bay Sands will be hiring 4500 people, a large portion of which for the positions of pit supervisors and dealers, while Resorts World has over 800 vacancies to be filled, half of that for croupiers.

It’s no surprise that the excellent and exciting prospects enjoyed as a croupier has drawn overwhelming response from applicants, making it a much sought-after position. However, as Singapore lacks a ready available experienced local talent pool to tap into, the need to train professional croupiers is a pressing one.

Singapore's 1st school to offer widest range of Casino Management programs
This is where School D’Hospitality (SD’H), Singapore’s pioneering tourism and hospitality school to offer the widest range of casino management programs from certificate to diploma, degree to MBA - bridges this gap perfectly. The courses, which promise no-holds barred, will equip all interested job seekers with the breadth of hand skills required in the casino industry. Armed with these skill-sets, applicants will stand a much higher chance of scoring the well-paying job of croupier or pit supervisor. The successes of SD’H programmes have seen many of their graduates being offered casino job openings by both the IRs in recent months.

“Majority of Singaporeans have no prior experience with croupier skills training. The casino management course allows students to gain not only technical, skill competencies and field experience in casino management, but also academic qualifications in a shorter period of time, giving them the opportunity to apply what they learn,” Mr. Yeh Choy Yan, Executive Director of SD’H said.

The importance of industry experience
What sets SD’H apart is its recognition of the value of industry experience – both for its students and trainers. At SD’H, students can expect to learn first-hand from top casino professionals such as Mr Angelito Manayon who is the chief casino trainer at the School D'Hospitality.

With over 15 years of experience with top casinos, Mr Angelito has taken on roles such as casino dealer, pit manager and in-house trainer in leading casinos. He is also a specialist trainer in various casino table games ranging from Texas' Holdem to Baccarat and Roulette. Students can look forward to gleaning ‘real’ casino experience from Angelito, who will impart essential skills of the casino industry acquired through years of experience.

The Executive Director Mr Yeh himself is a veteran of the hospitality industry. Previously a regional director in the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Mr Yeh brings with him a wealth of industry domain expertise and business networks to his students.
Students reap not only valuable knowledge from their trainers’ experience and through theory-based learning, but also learn from field experience as SD’H places a strong emphasis on learning beyond the classroom.

“Our Casino Management course emphasizes on both academic knowledge and practical field skills. The casino syllables stem from actual operational requirements of international casinos. All skills training mirrors closely the actual casino operations providing budding croupiers with technical competencies and skill sets. This provides a strong foundation for those who are interested in making headway in the casino industry,” said Mr Yeh.

100% were granted job interviews with the IRs
With their strong grasp of essential skills, many graduates go on to gain full time employment with casinos in the region.

One such student is Mr. Huang De Min, who attended the Casino Management diploma course and clinched a job in a Macau casino. He said, “My field experience from the course helped me to outshine the rest of the applicants and landed me the job.

Although the casino job market is very competitive, those with an understanding of the casino operations definitely have an edge over those with no experience at all.”

SD’H’s Croupier’s Hand Skills Course has received positive feedback from students since its launch this year. 100% of students from the graduating cohort, who applied, obtained interviews with either IRs. 3 students have since received a firm offer.

Christopher Beh is one such student who has aced his interview and obtained a job offer for the position of croupier at one of the IRs. Christopher shared that his interviewers were impressed with his relevant experience, particularly his familiarity with Baccarat and Caribbean Stud Poker – which he currently holds a certification of completion from SD’H for “Croupier’s Basic Hand Skills and Casino Club Games I” training programme.

Valuable global learning experiences
SD’H creates many opportunities and unique learning experiences for its students with its partner, the European University (EU), through internship programs in Swiss leading hotels and exchange programs with EU campuses in Europe. SD’H also organises field trips for its faculty and students every year to Las Vegas and Macau to attend G2E, the largest international gaming expo and visit world class casino resorts.

In recognition of its excellence, SD’H has achieved the ISO9001 certification and CaseTrust accreditation.

For students, what they like about SD’H most is the experience, exposure and doors the school has opened for them. To SD’H, what inspires the staff is to see them come in as new students without any knowledge about the casino industry to graduating into the workforce with the flair and skills of a casino professional.

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