The Phuket Hotels Association, a non-profit organisation representing 82 of the island’s top hotels and resorts, has continued to empower and upskill hospitality professionals in Phuket by joining forces with the prestigious EHL Hospitality Business School to award online educational scholarships to three exceptional young candidates.

As part of its commitment to the development of local talent, the association will financially support associates from three of its member hotels in Phuket to take five-week courses in Leadership, Finance and Revenue. Each program is donated by EHL Hospitality Business School, which is often recognized as the world’s best hospitality management university with campuses in Switzerland and Singapore.

Following an application and evaluation process which received more than 30 entries from eligible professionals across Phuket, the scholarships were awarded to Thunchanok Kusolvititkul from Amanpuri, who will take the Leadership course, Kris Atienza from The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket, who will embark on the Finance program, and Parichart Patchoo from Andara Resort & Villas, who will take the Revenue training.

Following the completion of their respective courses, these three exciting young executives will be awarded EHL Hospitality Business School certificates, which are recognised by top employers worldwide. This training will equip them with specialist knowledge, important new skills and a greater understanding of the hotel industry, enhancing their long-term career prospects and elevating Phuket’s entire hospitality sector.

These scholarships form part of the association’s focus on education, one of its four strategic pillars. Talent retention and development have emerged as critical issues in the post-pandemic era – not only in Phuket but all across Thailand and around the world. Following these three initial scholarships, the Phuket Hotels Association and EHL will continue to collaborate in future.

Bjorn Courage, president of the Phuket Hotels Association, comments: “We are delighted to sponsor Khun Thunchanok, Khun Kris and Khun Parichart to continue their development with EHL Hospitality Business School. Phuket is one of the world’s leading international tourism destinations, so it is critical for hotels and resorts to have well trained and qualified associates who are able to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and drive the industry forward. Our collaboration with EHL is a key part if this and we look forward to seeing our three candidates grow and achieve great things in future.”

EHL was founded in 1893 as the world’s first hotel management school. Close to 130 years later, it has become an international education group with around 4 000 students, 30 000 alumni and educational programs ranging from apprenticeships to master’s degrees, as well as professional short courses and executive education. EHL Group draws its strength from EHL Hospitality Business School which is regularly recognized as the world’s best university in hospitality management. Its unique pedagogical approach based on the Swiss experiential learning and its pioneer spirit inspire many institutions, governments and businesses around the world which use EHL’s consultancy services to raise their standards of excellence.

These three scholarships are the latest examples of how the Phuket Hotels Association is striving to ease the talent crunch by promoting investment in the education and training of local people. It recently secured scholarships for 48 young adults at vocational institutions and universities across Phuket and Bangkok, including alliances with Cornell University’s General Managers programme and Dusit Thani College, Bangkok, and is also empowering employees to enhance their opportunities for career progression through progressive learning.