By Goh Yi Han

STUDY and work for 15 months on a $45,000 scholarship grant, earning up to $30,000 over this period. And when you graduate with a master's degree, you stand a chance of landing a job in the hospitality sector too.

The deal, one of the most generous under the Government's Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) retraining scheme, was launched yesterday for jobs in the hospitality industry.

The $3 million Hospitality Management Traineeship Programme, is a joint effort by the Workforce Development Agency and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) Singapore Campus.

It is aimed at retraining experienced professionals and managers for employment in the hospitality sector.

The 15-month intensive work-and-study programme with the American university leads to an Executive Masters of Hospitality Administration qualification.

Up to 40 positions are available and if selected, applicants will receive a scholarship grant of $45,000, which covers close to 80 per cent of the course fees. They will also be given a training stipend of up to $30,000.

Trainees will get a chance to intern at hospitality companies such as the Ascott Group, Fullerton Hotel, and Royal Plaza on Scotts.

Ms Jennifer Weinman, who oversees the programme, said UNLV is confident that graduates will be highly sought after, as demand for managers is set to rise with the two integrated resorts slated to open within the next few years.

Market players in the hospitality industry agreed.

'We believe this programme is an excellent incubator for good management candidates, and look forward to the pool of talent that will be developed,' said Mr Peter Carmichael, vice-president of operations, South-east Asia and Maldives, at InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific.

The programme starts next month for the first batch of trainees. Interested individuals can sign up with the university.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.