July 16–The survey under The Skills for Tourism project (LAO/029) was undertaken across the country.

With a sample size of almost 1,300 enterprises the survey is the most comprehensive undertaken in the sector to date, proving essential data on employment and skills against which future tourism and hospitality vocational education and skills development delivery can be aligned.

Skills shortages have been identified as a significant challenge affecting the growth of the industry.

Labour markets intelligence that provides information to anticipate future skills needs can help policymakers, employers, educators and young people to make informed decisions and encourage partnerships to deliver training programmes and qualifications to the workplace, respected by employers and in high demand by students.

Director General of Technical and Vocational Education Department at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Mr Nouphanh Outsa, told the ceremony that he welcomes the finding from the tourism and Hospitality Enterprise Employment and Skills needs and demands of employers with the career aspiration of young people through high quality, accessible, affordable and timely education and training delivery.

The total employment in tourism and hospitality (excluding micro-enterprises) is estimated at 42,260 in 2018.

Under the assumption of a return to the growth rates observed in the decade up to 2015, it is possible that the number could reach 65,000 by 2023, according to the survey reporting.

It is expected that this research will contribute to close engagement between government ministries, education and training provinces and employers to shape and expand national vocational education and skills development system for better inclusion, more effective delivery, and higher relevance to industry needs.

The Skills for Tourism project is financially supported by the Lao government, Switzerland and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and is implemented by the Ministry of Education and Sports of Laos and the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency (LuxDev).

It promotes the sustainable and inclusive growth of Lao tourism and hospitality sector thereby contributing to poverty reduction.

A particular objective of the project is to support people from disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire the skills needed to work in hotels, restaurant and the greater tourism economy.

The implementation period of the skills for tourism project is since 2016-2021.

The project focused on achieving four key areas including the quality of the technical and vocational education and training and skills development programmes in tourism and hospitality.

The scale and variety of technical and vocational education and training as well as skills development programmes in tourism and hospitality were expanded and enhanced. It is expected that by 2021 at least 75 percent of graduates are gainfully employed or pursuing further studies within three months of completing their training programme.

At least 80 percent of those employed are earning an income at or above minimum wage.