Gaming sector to require over 7,000 more employees by 2020

The Talent Development Committee has forecast that the gaming industry will need some 7,525 additional gaming employees of primarily high-ranking position and mid-
level managers by 2020.

According to the government body, future workforce shortages include positions such as executive director, casino director and deputy director, senior vice president and department manager.

The industry currently employs about 60,000 staff.

In 2018, official data showed that the employment situation in Macau was “favorable” as the general unemployment rate was 1.8 percent and the unemployment rate of local residents was 2.4 percent. These figures are down year-on-year by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points respectively.

The total labor force was 394,900, with a labor force participation rate of 70.9%.

With a low unemployment rate in the SAR for more than a decade now, the need for more workers in the gaming sector marks a challenge for the city, unless it looks abroad and imports the expertise it needs from other countries or regions.

The SAR government has previously announced its aim to increase local residents working in middle and upper- level management positions, aiming for them to fill 85% of senior positions by 2020.

To that end, it is enacting policies that would facilitate the upward mobility of local residents, helping them to train and develop skills needed for the sector.

According to a survey it conducted, 97.4% of the city’s gaming mid-level employees in 2018 were local residents; and 383 locals were employed in senior-management roles, covering 76.8% of such posts.

Late last year, the industry had 57,246 full-time employees in the sector, an increase of 1.1% year-on-year.

Other positions that will see high growth include facilities maintenance and repair technicians or casino technicians, card room attendants, senior security officers, security control room operators, and casino attendants.

The number of these positions, along with middle and high ranking posts, have also been in growth since 2018, and this is expected to remain the case in the lead up to 2020.

Moreover, the survey noted that portion of low-level positions, such as dealer, would fall by approximately 30% due to the effect of technological innovation.

As more machines and more advanced technology will be used to enhance efficiency and lower demand for human workers, the number of mid- level managers administering these roles might also decrease.

The committee published a catalogue – only made available in Chinese – which told residents about new qualifications and skills required to work in the 95 positions in the industry, to help them advance their careers. LV