Fifty-four participants received their certificates from Mr G L Yap, Chief Operating Officer, Development & Corporate Leasing Business Group and Executive Director of Property Services, at the OJT Certificate Award Ceremony held appropriately at Orchard Parksuites, Far East Organization's premier service apartment development. Singapore's leading industrial trainer, the Institute of Technical Education and Far East Organization, jointly issued this OJT Housing Certificate.

Far East Organization, with nine service apartments and a service office under its umbrella, is the first hospitality services provider in Singapore to run such a programme for its hospitality staff.

“We aim for excellence. We are always looking for new ways to improve ourselves. This OJT programme adds value to our products and services. It ensures that all our staff deliver consistent, quality service to our guests. It also provides our staff with professional knowledge and a systematic approach to housekeeping thus endowing them with a market value,” said Mr Yap.

Ms Alice Lim, 55, known as “ace worker” among her colleagues, agreed. “This OJT training helps us work better. We learn the proper way to make a bed, clean the apartment and the utensils. We now know how to do our work faster and better,” said Ms Lim.

The challenges were to train the room-stewardesses and housemen while operating and managing the daily running of our business. “We had to be very focused, very consistent in the six months of training. Our supervisors and in-house housekeepers provided excellent leadership. Our team of loyal and experienced staff who, on the average, have been with us for over five years, were very receptive to learning new things and applying what they have learnt,” said Ms Rose Tan, Manager, Hospitality Management Services.

“They understand that they are ambassadors of our company, they are business people, service providers, and are equally important to our company's business,” she added.