Sands China prioritizes talent development, appreciates long-serving team members

Sands China has always attached great importance to the professional development of team members, and the company’s focus on providing team members with ideal development prospects has helped increase employee loyalty. Including the 949 team members celebrating 10- or 15-year anniversaries in 2020, more than 8,100 team members have now served the company for 10 years or more, representing more than 30 per cent of Sands China’s employees. Among them, over 2,200 have hit the milestone of 15 years of service. Over 1,300 of them have been with the company since 2004.
Amid the pandemic and economic situation that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year, the integrated resort operator did not switch its priority in terms of investing in its team members, in a bid to assist them in accelerating in their careers.
Sands China considers its human resources initiatives as an essential part of the company’s commitment and determination to nurture local talent. The company created the Sands China Academy as a platform to give team members training for their career development, and to help foster professional talent in the wider Macau community, while implementing a human capital strategy that is constantly innovating and evolving.
Sands China’s various human resource development initiatives centre around three key features. The company strives to provide programmes that are diverse, high-quality, and dynamic as the market evolves.
Diversity: Offering an abundance of horizontal and vertical management talent development programmes in order to meet the ever-changing business and market needs, thereby contributing to the pool of diversified talent in Macau.
High quality: Screening and shortlisting of potential candidates and building a pool of qualified trainers based on strict criteria to ensure high standards for participation
Dynamic: Keeping abreast of the times and adjusting programmes based on the latest market trends.
“Over the past decade, Sands China has remained committed to local talent development by continuously improving its human capital strategies in line with the direction set by the Macau SAR government,” said Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd.
“To that end, the company created the Sands China Academy as a platform to help foster professional talent in the Macau community across sectors to contribute to the development of Macau and our country.”
“With the company this year encountering unprecedented challenges, our team members’ hard work and dedication are even more commendable. With their perseverance and determination to overcome adversity, we are confident that we can usher in a new spring after a long and cold winter.” Dr. Wong added.
The integrated resort operator continues to collaborate with local and international universities, government departments and educational institutions.
Through a variety of horizontal and vertical management talent development programmes, Sands China is able to encourage team members to develop in different fields, challenging potential candidates with high standards for participation, while adjusting programmes from time to time based on the latest market trends.

Over 19,500 vertical promotions since 2004
Over 3,000 Sands China team members have taken advantage of the success of nearly 40 programmes such as the Sands China Integrated Resort Business Analyst Development Programme and the Sands China Manager Development Programme for Integrated Resorts to develop their talent and expertise.
Sands China’s All-Round Food and Beverage Management Programme, a collaboration with the Labour Affairs Bureau, hopes to nurture Macao young talent to the food and beverage industry, as talent in the sector is currently in high demand in the local market. And with the Train-the-trainer development series, regular performance reviews ensure maintenance of high standards.
More so, to date, more than 410 team members have passed their exams to become certified trainers.
The integrated resort operator offers a variety of horizontal and vertical mobility opportunities to its team members through the Sands China Academy. Since 2004, team members have earned more than 19,500 vertical promotions, and have taken advantage of over 2,000 horizontal career movements. Over the years, the Academy has provided more than 12 million on-the-job training hours for its team members; more than 10,000 retail employees and 226 SMEs have successfully completed its programmes.

Team members express heartfelt gratitude towards company

Uni Lei

For Sands China, they value their team members’ overall wellbeing, considering them as significant partners in operating the business.
Several team members have expressed heartfelt gratitude towards the company, considering themselves fortunate to be working with a company that prioritizes and values local people.
The team members admit that the current times are one of the most challenging periods for local residents as the SAR undergoes economic crisis, greatly affecting the workforce.
Some of the company’s training programmes last for 18 months, allowing employees to work in different departments.
Lei Weng San, acting assistant manager at one of the integrated resort operator’s F&B departments, is a fresh graduate who is keen to excel in the Food & Beverage area. Commenting on the programme he undertook, Lei said, “This provided me with management skills training and on the job training in a well-planned programme. It’s very well-rounded and has helped me find my direction in my career within a short period of time.”

Lei Weng San

Another team member, Uni Lei, currently an Integrated Resort Business Analyst, said that by joining the programme, she was able to participate in six different departments, such as Finance, E-Commerce and Strategic Analysis, among others.
“This is a great opportunity for me to further discover whether I fit into the industry, and to earn valuable experience in data analysis for integrated resort decision making,” said Lei.
Their statements echo the goal of the integrated resort operator: for team members to experience well-rounded work opportunities in the areas they are interested in.

Pierre Lai

A table games pit manager, Pierre Lai, remarked, “Completing the company’s Train-the-trainer programme opened doors for me for some potential horizontal development, and regular assessments ensure that trainers have always met the standard. I would like to try working in other departments with the knowledge gained through this training.”