Kadoorie Foundation grant opens the door for future in hotel management

The Unison group has secured funding from the Kadoorie Foundation to provide an opportunity for young people from ethnic minorities to obtain a diploma in hotel management.

A lot of youngsters from ethnic minorities who did not perform well in their Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations still possessed high standards of English and many were interested in entering the hospitality industry, said Fermi Wong Wai-fun, founder and director of Unison.

Form Five graduates with passes in at least two subjects and a positive attitude are eligible to apply for the one-year foundation diploma, which then qualifies them for any diploma course at the Institute of Vocational Education.

Training opportunities in English for ethnic minorities were scarce or required them to perform better in the HKCEE, Ms Wong said, so this was a 'golden chance' for young people.

'We had to have an entry requirement because we already have more than 100 applicants for the 35 seats,' Ms Wong said. 'So we set up the criteria for a two-subject pass, but the most important thing is attitude - each candidate will be interviewed by a member of our board of directors.'

Courses will be taught by the institute and a diploma granted upon completion. Unison has acquired enough funding to run the programme for two years.