VOA标准英语2012--China's Hotel Expansion Creates Huge Demand for Qualified Workers

China's Hotel Expansion Creates Huge Demand for Qualified¹ Workers

Learning how to dress appropriately is one of the most basic lessons at the Beijing Hospitality Institute. 

Although the tuition is much higher than at other colleges, students like Candy, from Anhui province, say the cost is worth it.

"My father said it was okay for me to study this if I can be trained in all sorts of skills and find a job afterwards, and if I can develop my career in a hotel in a big city," said Candy.

The school was established by private investors² in 2008 and is graduating its first class this year. The students are taught English and all aspects of hospitality management, including special training in Chinese culture. 

James, a third-year student from Guizhou province, relishes³ the chance to share his culture. 

"Maybe tea is the best topic too - you are introducing tea and how to drink tea, and foreigners, they will feel [it's] very exciting," said James. 

China is a manufacturing powerhouse, with a seemingly unlimited⁴ supply of labor⁵. But this school aims to solve one of the biggest struggles for international chains expanding in China: finding and keeping qualified service employees.

Marriott executives say that, although they have success retaining management, it is a struggle to keep lower-level positions filled. Sandra Ngan is a Marriott human resources manager. 

"The single child policy -- honestly, that is the frequent feedback we hear from our competitors and also the hotel school as well," said Ngan. "We have less and less young people willing to join the hotel industry. That is the challenge that we are facing right now." 

Service jobs still carry some social stigma⁶ in China, so Ngan says it is also necessary to persuade Chinese parents to let their only child join what she calls the Marriott family. She learned the hard way when one trainee⁷ in Shanghai didn't show up for his first day of work. 

"So we call home and then he was telling us, 'I really want to come, but my parents locked the door. My parents don't want me to work here,'" Ngan recalled. 

Marriott already has 60 hotels in China. An aggressive growth plan envisions that number to reach 100 by the end of 2014.

Back at the Beijing Hospitality Institute, first-year students spend time in a hotel room to learn about what some of them say is their least favorite part of the job - housekeeping. 

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 relishes   

n.滋味( relish的名词复数 )；乐趣；（大量的）享受；快乐v.欣赏( relish的第三人称单数 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The meat relishes of pork. 这肉有猪肉味。 来自辞典例句
• The biography relishes too much of romance. 这篇传记中传奇色彩太浓。 来自辞典例句

4 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

7 trainee   

n.受训练者

参考例句：

• The trainee checked out all right on his first flight.受训者第一次飞行完全合格。
• Few of the trainee footballers make it to the top.足球受训人员中没有几个能达到顶级水平。