December 11, 2013 - Galaxy Entertainment Group (“GEG”) is named the biggest winner of this year’s “Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (“MORS”) Gold Pin Competition” by scooping eight Gold Pins from eleven classifications. Competing against nearly 400 contestants from other hotel properties, the GEG team members demonstrated great skills and knowledge to win wide recognition across the industry.

This is already the fifth year for the GEG team to participate in this annual competition organized by Institute for Tourism Studies. The unprecedented result is the proof of the remarkable progress and professional development made by GEG together with its devoted team members. Ip Wai Chong, room controller from Galaxy Macau™’s hotel operations department, won the Gold Pin at the “Front Desk Agent / Customer Relations Officer” classification. He is very thankful for the support from his colleagues, which helped him cope with the stress throughout the competition. “I have been working very hard to prepare for the competition in the past few months. My colleagues also took out their time to practice with me, so that I could bring out my best during the competition. I would also like to thank my company for providing us vocational training from time to time to improve our service quality,” he said.

Having joined the security department of StarWorld Hotel for almost eight years, Supervisor Huang Shehan was the winner of the “Security Officer” classification. He said, “I didn’t know that I would have gained so much during my years in StarWorld Hotel; the professional skills I have acquired from this job, such as first aid skills, fire safety and customer service, are especially useful for my career development. I believe that it is my rich experience that made me stand out in front of the judges.”

Coming from across Galaxy Macau, StarWorld Hotel and Hotel Okura Macau, eight GEG team members have entered into different classifications in accordance with their expertise, including “Security Officer”, “Concierge and Bell Attendant”, “Front Desk Agent / Customer Relations Officer”, “Assistant Cook (Western Kitchen)”, “Cook in Chinese Dim Sum (Intermediate)”, “Waiter/Waitress (Chinese Restaurant Service)”, “Bartender” and “Cook in Chinese Cuisine (Intermediate)”. The first round of the competition consisted of written examinations and skill evaluations. The second round was a showcase of technical skills and the contestants with the highest scores would enter the final. After rounds of eliminations, the GEG team members made history by snatching eight Gold Pins from the competition. Over the past five years, the GEG team has already achieved a grand total of 22 Gold Pins.

During the competition, the contestants were observed and accessed by the panel of judges formed by over 30 experts and professional instructors from the industry. Two finalists with the highest scores in each classification were named the winners and each of them was awarded not only a MORS certificate but also a cash prize of MOP$6,000 and a subsidy of MOP$2,000 for the training courses at the Institute for Tourism Studies.