Good afternoon one and all,
We are here at the Grand Finals of the Housekeeping Bed-Making Competition to witness what happens when skill, experience and agility come together.
This is the second time the Housekeeping Bed-Making Competition has been held. It was first held last year – the brainchild of the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and the Association of Singapore Housekeepers as a means of showcasing the professional standards of the housekeeping vocation to students. This year, the competition welcomed 61 hotels and 87 participants and there’s been a new category for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents above the age of 40 years old working in the Housekeeping industry. I understand some hotels have leverage on technology to make the work of housekeeper more elderly-friendly as well as productive. I hope more would do so. Hotels that wish to embark on such initiatives could tap on the funding support of Inclusive Growth Programme by e2i.
Competition goals
This competition serves to help housekeeping workers rediscover a deeper understanding and passion for their work, training providers validate the quality of their training programmes and employers build job satisfaction, staff motivation, performance excellence and set benchmarks.
This competition also allows us to showcase the work of Hotel @ College West, a 22-room training hotel in ITE College West. The hotel is staffed by students pursuing their Higher NITEC in Hospitality Operations from ITE’s School of Hospitality. At last year’s inaugural Housekeeping Bed-Making Competition, the training hotel was represented by Miss Norsakinah. Today she has graduated and is training with Singapore Airlines to be a flight stewardess.
Closing remarks
To the participants of the Housekeeping Bed-Making Competition 2012, thank you for being part of this exciting competition. I hope you are aware of the important role you play in Singapore’s Hospitality industry. To the finalists who will be competing later, I wish you all the best.
Let us sit back, and witness the demonstration of professionalism and skill in local housekeeping industry.
