Hotel eyes staff who make good FITS

Aposition as a corporate management trainee with the Hyatt group can open the door for a fresh graduate to a career with a growing hotel chain that has nine brands around the world.

'It is a very attractive programme. A lot of fresh graduates are very ambitious and this programme helps them fast-track to a junior management level,' says Matthew Chiu, assistant manager at Cafe, at the Hyatt Regency, Sha Tin.

Chiu recently finished his trainee programme and is now working in his first post as assistant manager of 22 staff in the hotel's elegant ground-floor Cafe. The relatively new Hong Kong hotel started offering graduate training in 2010, during its second year of operation.

'This programme has been initiated by Hyatt. [Group] hotels with fewer than 300 rooms take one trainee. Those with more than 300 rooms must take at least two trainees a year,' says Kyle Lo, personnel manager at the Sha Tin hotel.

With one position at the food and beverage division already filled this year, Lo is still seeking the right corporate management trainee for the rooms division.

Getting in is not easy, however. Initial interviews include meeting the director of human resources (HR) and the general manager, as well as the divisional head of specialisation.

Candidates who qualify for the second round will have to meet the area director of HR and the director of recruitment for Asia Pacific. Finally, they must pass a psychometric test.