In 2013, the NPUST Department of Recreational Sport & Health Promotion entered into a cooperative relationship with the world renowned resort organization, Club Med, to training students in resort management and open up opportunities for overseas internships. The relationship is the first of its kind in Taiwan, and over the past five years, many students have already travelled to Club Med Resorts around the world to take part in internship training.

Through a comprehensive training program, students learn about workplace expectations and demands early on. They are also encouraged to acquire relevant certifications and apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to the real world during internships with Club Med and in their careers. For the students who successfully land overseas internships, they will also have a very eye-catching item to add to their resumes.

On November 2^nd, 2018 at university stadium, the NPUST vice-president for administrative affairs, Dr. Chao-lin Tuan, and the Club Med vice-president for the greater China area, Ms. Yvonne Zhu, jointly hosted an opening ceremony for this year’s session of the “Human Resources Training Program”.

Dr. Tuan made some remarks stating that “our university’s diverse approach to education teaches students technical knowledge in such fields as agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal sciences, but it also integrates the domains of health and leisure. For instance, currently, the university is promoting Green tourism and healthy vacations – which are current trends of development. And so, we encourage students at the university to take part in interdisciplinary studies. Integrating Club Med’s expertise in business administration with the knowledge students learn at the university will open them up to more opportunities in the future.”

Ms. Zhu stated that “Club Med offers more than work experience. It is also providing a path for personal growth. Seventy students from NPUST are already working for Club Med and we hope that through this program, we will be able to cultivate even more talent”.

Recreational Sport & Health Promotion Assoc. Prof. Ming-Hung Chen is responsible for the program’s planning. He explained, “originating from France, Club Med is the leading brand in premium, all-inclusive holidays. With its 80 top-end resorts, it is currently the largest resort group in the world. The main people working to organize all of the activities at the Club Med resorts are called Gentle Organizers (G.Os). To become a G.O, in addition to having a good attitude and special qualities, you need to have foreign language skills. This November, recruitment of second- and third-year students at the university began and evaluations focused on foreign language ability, professional certificates and aptitude. In the preliminary selection, 20 to 30 students are chosen to undergo training. The training period lasts for 3 months, with classes on the historic development of Club Med, work content and culture, occupational demand and certifications. After the training is completed, the students will be given priority to take part in overseas Club Med internships for half a year.

“The results from last year’s training class were brilliant. 25 students were recruited, from the departments of Recreational Sport & Health Promotion, Applied Linguistics, Tropical Agriculture, Child Care, and International Finance. Following a rigorous selection processes and matchmaking, 12 of the students were selected to go to Club Med resorts in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Mauritius, and France for internships. The job performances of the students were all regarded highly by the management at the resorts, demonstrating the quality of the talent selection processes and training. Students who take part in the program are given an opportunity to understand overseas work content early on so that they can prepare themselves to cooperate with businesses in the future.”

This year, the target is to select 15 students to go to Club Med resorts for internships. This cooperative relationship between NPUST and Club Med opens up new resources for both parties and will also hopefully attract more talent and create more opportunity to cultivate people with international frames of reference. It also allows students to prepare themselves in advance to enter the job market and move closer to the goal of finding employment immediately upon graduation.