POLYTECHNIC courses in tourism and hospitality are now the hottest ticket to excellent job prospects.

School-leavers have put in their applications, leaving at least four out of the five polytechnics snowed under with between two and five times more applications than they have places available.

In response, the polys have either upped their intake by between a quarter and a third and/or added new related courses.

The surge in interest is being fuelled by an industry that is expecting a staffing shortage when the two integrated resorts (IRs) and new hotels open here in the next three to five years.

Robust growth in tourism in China, India and South-east Asia will also translate into regional business opportunities for the industry and regional job openings for these poly graduates, predicted Dr Russell Arthur Smith, vice-dean of the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management.

Players in the tourism and hospitality trade have thus been throwing scholarships at polytechnic students in the hope of snagging the best of each graduating batch, making the sector even more attractive for a career.

The Government has estimated that the IRs and related businesses will create about 50,000 to 60,000 jobs, ranging from chefs to animal trainers and sales assistants; the new hotels will also need managers for the front desk, human resources and events management, among others.

Currently, an estimated 9,000 people graduate every year from tourism-related courses run by the polytechnics, the Singapore International Hotel and Tourism College (Shatec) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, a number that will still leave the industry short.

Getting and retaining talent in a sector known for a staff turnover of between 20 and 40 per cent is a challenge that companies are beginning to face, said Les Amis corporate communications manager Raymond Lim.

Les Amis, which runs 11 restaurants, has been giving out bond-free scholarships to students of Temasek Polytechnic and Shatec since 2004.

Mr Lim said that the company hoped that investing in young people will pay off, 'so the chances of them leaving the company for a paltry increment elsewhere will be low'.

Dr Michael Chiam, senior lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's school of business and accountancy, confirmed that as recently as two years ago, hardly any scholarship offers came in for his students.

He noted that while scholarships come with assured jobs in that the students are tied to serve their sponsors for a set length of time, some of his students prefer to 'keep their options open'.

For example, Temasek Poly's Mexx Wong, 20, who is studying culinary and catering, took up a Select Catering scholarship because of its relatively short bondof a year.

Besides scholarships, the polys have also seen a jump in the number of internships - a foot in the door to a permanent job - offered to their students.

Temasek Polytechnic's manager for the course on hospitality and tourism management Choi Hoi San noted that while students used to get at most five internship offers, they are getting twice that number now.

As Dr Ng Eng Hong of Singapore Polytechnic put it: 'These are ways in which companies get around the acute manpower shortage. They want to book the good students first.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Feb 13, 2008