Sands China’s local team members undergo training, eyeing promotion

From left: Lei Weng San, Pierre Lai and Uni Lei

Several local team members at Sands China Ltd. have been in the process of receiving promotions after the gaming operator offered a training platform for their career development.
Yesterday, the company hosted its Sands China Academy Distinctive Talent Development Sharing Session to celebrate its achievements of its various human resources initiatives.
The company’s horizontal and vertical management talent development programmes encourage team members to take advantage of opportunities within the company to develop new skills and undertake training in different fields.
“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,” Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd, said yesterday during the event. Among the examples are the Sands China Integrated Resort Business Analyst Development Programme and the Sands China Manager Development Programme for Integrated Resorts, which have helped over 1,600 team members to advance their careers since 2016 by completing more than 30 programmes.
For Sands China’s All-Round Food and Beverage Management Programme, a collaboration with the Labour Affairs Bureau, the company accepted only six out of 100 applicants into the programme. And with the ‘train-the-trainer’ development series, more than 410 team members have passed their exams to become certified trainers.
Lei Weng San, acting assistant manager at one of the gaming operator’s F&B departments, said that he has undergone training for 18 months, which was divided into three parts.
“[I was trained in] three outlets: casino restaurants, evening service and fine dining restaurants,” said Lei, who started his career as a server.
“It is helpful because as a fresh graduate, this provided me with management skills training and on the job training. It’s very well-rounded and has helped me find my direction in my career,” he added.
Meanwhile, 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.
“I am on the third rotation now. This is a great opportunity for me to further discover whether I fit into the industry, and whether I am really capable to be an analyst or not,” said Lei.
Amid the pandemic, Lei stressed that the gaming operator has provided them with online classes so as not to disrupt their learning.
A table game pit manager, Pierre Lai, remarked, “This programme has opened doors for me for some potential horizontal development. I would like to try working in other departments with the knowledge gained through this training.” Wednesday’s sharing session featured a preview of the company’s new Management Trainee Programme, which aims to train leaders who are able to “develop strategies with big-picture thinking, and to better meet the needs of participants in light of changing realities in the market.”