Melco Crown launches first in-house bachelor degree

Akiko Takahashi

Melco Crown Entertainment has partnered with Edinburgh Napier University to launch the company’s first in-house bachelor’s degree next year. MCE YOU-niversity is part of Melco’s Whole Person Development program designed for employees who do not hold a university degree.
Akiko Takahashi, the company’s executive vice president and chief human resources and corporate social responsibility officer, said on Friday that Melco is committed to fostering internal career opportunities: “It’s better to lose people to ourselves than to lose them to competitors. So we need to allow them to have access to the jobs they’d like to try.”
Stressing that Melco oversaw 18,000 internal transfers and promotions since it first opened its properties in Macau, Ms Takahashi said that the company’s first bachelor’s program – a Bachelor of Arts in International Business Practice offered in partnership with Edinburgh’s Napier University – will be launched next year, with the first batch comprising 15 employees. They will be able to continue their careers at Melco while studying.
Senior operation managers, shift managers, pit supervisors and assistant directors of casino services are among the employees who have enrolled in the program.
“To enroll, employees must have at least five years of supervisory or managerial experience, and must pass certain assessments. Usually a bachelor’s program comprises of a four-year study program. But in this case, they get two-years of credit for their practical experience and enter the bachelor’s program on the third year,” she explained.
The senior executive added that classes would be customized to suit Macau’s economic needs and interests: “This is an in-house credited program awarded by the Edinburgh Napier University. The classes will be somewhat customized to us. For instance, the international marketing class will provide a Macau context [for study] by asking how international marketing relates to Macau and to our business and tourism.”
Ms Takahashi told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony held on Friday that the company would cover tuition fees.
The company is also in talks with local universities for co-teaching opportunities in this first bachelor’s degree program. The executive VP did not disclose which higher education institutions would be participating in the program, stating only that negotiations are currently taking place.
Ms Takahashi told reporters that enough personnel have been recruited for Studio City, the company’s Hollywood-themed resort, which opens on October 27.
Melco Crown Entertainment’s co-chairman and CEO, Lawrence Ho, said that lifelong learning and holistic personal development programs are part of the company’s core values.