The IFT Tourism and Hotel School’s main goal is to develop people’s skills and talent in order to prepare them for work in tourism, hospitality and other service industries. To achieve that, the School offers courses that reflect the latest needs of the market.
More than 20,000 people undertake training programmes and occupational assessments each year at the IFT Tourism and Hotel School. Courses are offered at foundation, intermediate and advanced level.
Some of the programmes are presented in partnership with institutions abroad. These courses lead to certifications that are recognised by tourism and hospitality businesses around the world.
The IFT Tourism and Hotel School collaborates with the Macao Education and Youth Affairs Bureau to deliver 2 courses for high-school students: the Tourism Techniques Course; and the Graphic Design Course. Each course – respectively spanning 3 years – involves academic and occupational instruction, and is supplemented by internships.
IFT also arranges vocational courses that teach high-school pupils about the hospitality, food and beverage, and events businesses. These courses cover the basics about tourism and hospitality, allowing students to make decisions about further studies and their future career path.
For the wider community, IFT offers a range of training courses in a variety of fields. Throughout the year, special seminars and workshops are also arranged by IFT. These help broaden people’s horizons and they are often jointly arranged with partners abroad.
The IFT Community Education and Development Programme gives all residents of Macao access – free of charge – to a wide range of basic training courses on aspects of service-sector work. Some courses are offered in cooperation with community associations and partners in the relevant industries.
The Tourism and Hotel School’s work extends beyond Macao: the School makes important contributions to improving cooperation in tourism education between Macao and its immediate neighbours – the Mainland province of Guangdong and the Hong Kong SAR – as part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area project. (Readers can find out more in the “Global Links” chapter.)

AREAS OF TRAINING
The IFT Tourism and Hotel School offers courses in a total of 8 fields:
Hospitality
There is a wide range of courses available, from occupational skills to management-related knowledge. IFT collaborates with a number of international training organisations to offer accredited qualifications that can help industry participants advance their respective careers in hospitality. Programmes are offered at a variety of levels.
Food and beverage
Programmes are available at different levels, some targeting the community at large and others specific to industry professionals. Areas covered include: food and beverage management, restaurant front-line service, bar operations, culinary arts, and food-product knowledge. IFT has partnerships internationally with a number of training entities in this field in order to offer globally-recognised qualifications.
Heritage and tourism
Courses offered include Tour Guide Training, available in several languages; Cultural Heritage Interpretation for World Heritage Sites; Macao Heritage Tour Guide training; and Supervision in Travel Agency work. IFT collaborates with the International Air Transport Association and the United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations to enable the Institute to run the International Travel Agent Foundation Course, among other programmes. The Institute also regularly hosts public seminars covering culture- and tourism-related topics.
Retail, events and business
The available courses aim to allow participants to cope with the needs of Macao’s fast-developing retail industry. Topics include: sales techniques; shop operations; merchandising; marketing; and visual merchandising. IFT also offers a series of programmes related to financial management, business management and accounting, ranging from foundation level to managerial level. In the field of events, the Institute offers courses on general event planning, wedding planning, and public relations for events.
Creative studies and information technology (IT)
To cope with the development of Macao’s cultural and creative sector, and to support the city’s aim of becoming a “smart city”, IFT puts on a number of courses related respectively to the creative arts, design, creative thinking and information technology.
Health, spa and beauty
The Institute makes available courses in collaboration with several international training organisations, offering access to accredited qualifications, and providing participants with opportunities for career development. Popular courses include programmes leading either to personal fitness instructor or yoga instructor qualifications. Other popular topics include professional make-up skills, food safety, and nutrition. The courses respectively on Pilates and sports massage are also highly sought-after.
Language and culture
The Institute offers courses in English-, Portuguese-, Mandarin-, Cantonese-, Japanese-, Korean- and French-language study. Programmes are offered at a variety of levels. Specific programmes are available for professionals either in hospitality, catering or retailing, covering industry-related vocabulary. In addition, IFT provides language programmes for local high-school students.
Personal development
Courses available range from management of interpersonal relationships to communication skills. The goal is to equip participants with skills that can enable them to face successfully challenges, either in the workplace or in personal matters.
VOCATIONAL TRAINEES - ACADEMIC YEAR 2018/19
Course category |
No. of trainees |
Hospitality | 2,489 |
Food and beverage | 1,997 |
Heritage and tourism | 2,109 |
Retail, events and business | 2,580 |
Creative studies and IT | 2,292 |
Health, spa and beauty | 723 |
Language and culture | 4,907 |
Personal development | 1,864 |
Extracurricular activities | 1,022 |
Total | 19,983 |
Course type |
No. of trainees |
Diploma programmes | 203 |
Community Education and Development Programme | 2,775 |
Customised courses | 8,560 |
Courses leading to internationally-recognised qualifications | 864 |
Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (MORS) | 825 |
Other short-term professional courses | 5,404 |
Pre-service vocational training programmes | 1,286 |
Technical and professional programmes for high-school students | 66 |
Total | 19,983 |
Occupational assessment candidates – academic year 2018/19 |
No. of candidates |
Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (MORS) | 1,471 |
Language examinations for tour guides and ground transfer agents | 70 |
Language proficiency test – English | 90 |
Total | 1,631 |
