IHG Launches 25th IHG Academy in China

The new IHG Academy is established in partnership with the Chengdu Vocational & Technical College which offers a three-year diploma programme for its students. This represents another example of IHG's dedication to cultivating human resources in Western China. IHG has already partnered with six educational institutions to bring the IHG Academy to Chongqing.

'Western China has huge potential for growth in the hospitality industry where we have already strengthened our leadership with the expansion of our hotel networks,' said Keith Barr, chief operating officer, IHG Greater China. 'We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of our presence in China this year and we are happy to see our 25th IHG Academy established in this emerging region in the country.'

The first IHG Academy was first launched in June 2006 in Shanghai to address the continuing long term need for trained talent in China's growing hospitality industry. Since then, the IHG Academies wherever they are located, have attracted young people interested in pursuing a career in China's burgeoning hospitality industry. To date, the IHG Academy has been set up in 11 cities across China including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, Shenzhen, Shunde, Jinan, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Chengdu.

Each IHG Academy offers a selection of degree and diploma programmes that combine theoretical sessions, lectures by IHG executives and internships at IHG's hotels. Approximately 5,000 IHG Academy graduates are expected to join IHG hotels and the industry by 2010. IHG in Greater China will be looking to hire 20,000 additional staff over the next few years as it opens more hotels. The launch of new IHG Academy aims to develop highly qualified talent who will have an international perspective, a good grasp of modern international standards of service, and skills to boost the growth of the local economy.

Having been operating in China since 1984, IHG was the first international hotel group to enter China and the first to expand into second and third-tier cities. The group now has a total of 118 hotels across more than 30 cities in China. In the western region of the country, IHG has seven hotels open under four of its brands which include InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express(R), and six more hotels in the pipeline.

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