Skilled casino staff demand to rise 30 pct: Macau govt

Nov 09, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Demand for manager-level and other types of skilled workers in the Macau casino industry is forecast to grow by about 30 percent over the next three years. A special committee on labour policies set up by the government has come up with the estimate.

The figure was revealed during a Friday meeting of the Talent Development Committee. Macau’s Chief Executive, Fernando Chui Sai On, chaired the meeting.

The forecast was based on studies commissioned by the committee from four Macau higher education institutions. The studies have not been made public; the estimate was instead included in an official press release on Friday’s meeting. It did not detail the methodology used to come up with the figure.

The study results also point to significant increases in labour demand in sectors connected with Macau’s gaming industry, according to the press release. It is estimated that about 27,000 new hospitality jobs will be generated over the next three years.

The retail sector is expected to post a 25-percent jump in labour force size in the same period; the restaurant sector is forecast to generate 16,000 new jobs.

Data from the Macau Statistics and Census Service show that the city’s gaming sector employed more than 58,000 workers in the second quarter of 2015. More than 2,200 were in director- and manager-level positions; the sector had about 25,000 people working as dealers.

Macau’s casino concessionaires are investing billions of U.S. dollars in new projects in the Cotai district. They are scheduled to open on varying dates until 2017, and will require thousands of workers to operate them. Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd and Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd opened new properties on Cotai earlier this year. Both firms still have land available for further development.

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