About 97 percent of Macau’s casino employees are willing to carry out professional qualifications and licensing to improve their professional skills, and gaming companies and authorities should work together to enhance internal training programs, a recent survey carried out by the Macao Association of Young Employees in the Gaming Industry indicates.
The results of the survey were revealed by the association on December 1st, during a seminar held at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf focusing on the current environment of the gaming industry in the SAR.
In comments to AGB, the study’s coordinator Carlos Siu Lam, an associate professor at the Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies of Macao Polytechnic University, said the research collected 519 valid responses and six in-depth interviews with high-level executives.
“The research results show that employees in the gambling industry hold a positive attitude towards service professionalization. Nearly two-thirds of the surveyed employees agree with implementing a professional qualification certification or licensing system. Among them, 97.7 percent are willing to acquire relevant certifications or licenses to further enhance their professional standards,” Lam told AGB.
“One-third of the surveyed employees, nearly 78 percent, express reservations not due to holding negative opinions about the concept and requirements of professionalization but because of inadequate understanding or lack of information about the concept’s demands. This misunderstanding leads to unclear notions and reservations rather than a negative stance towards the trend of professionalization,” notes the academic.
According to Lam, one of the main findings of the study was also that five areas defined professionalism for gaming employees, namely: initiative, technical competence, service integration capabilities, contextual knowledge, and appropriate legal and regulatory understanding.
‘Gambling enterprises can enhance internal training programs, providing opportunities for employees to learn and share experiential knowledge, thereby improving their professional abilities and knowledge base,’ the report concludes.
‘Both the government and gambling enterprises play significant roles in promoting the process of professionalization. By raising awareness among gambling industry professionals about professionalization and encouraging their active pursuit of professional knowledge and skills, the industry’s competitiveness can be continually enhanced,’ it furthers.
