Post by Swiss Skills for Competitiveness

THE BEST INTERNSHIP IS THE ONE GUESTS NEVER NOTICE A student may spend years preparing for a career in hospitality yet still enter the workforce without fully understanding industry expectations, leading to the question, "What does successful talent development look like?" The strongest talent pipelines are invisible. Guests do not see differences in the services provided by trainees or employees. They simply experience service excellence.   Christian Wildhaber, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Jakarta, believes this is the benchmark for success in skills. Yet beyond technical skills, this level of excellence is also built through responsibility, attitude, and real workplace experience.   Marking 75 years of Swiss-Indonesia bilateral relations in 2026, the Embassy of Switzerland in Indonesia hosted a high-level networking and sharing session in collaboration with Swisscontact and SwissCham Indonesia. Alongside tourism leaders, representatives from the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, and six polytechnics, we united around a shared belief that stronger collaboration creates stronger talent.   As Ambassador H.E. Olivier Zehnder emphasized, "Providing young people access to qualified jobs is a collective responsibility. One that begins long before recruitment, for learning experiences to reflect the realities of today's tourism sector."   The discussion made one message impossible to ignore. Talent development works best when education and industry stop operating in separate worlds.   Funded by the SECO Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by Swisscontact, the Sustainable Tourism Education Development (STED) under the Swiss Skills for Competitiveness is based on the premise that: (1) when industry helps shape curricula, (2) when supervisors are trained to mentor learners in the workplace, and (3) when businesses invest in future employees before they are hired, skills become more relevant to the jobs that await them.   Real opportunity lies in understanding why successful blueprints in Switzerland work, and adapting them to local realities. Initiatives like In-Company Trainer training and Structured Internships, help industry, education, and the government move from parallel tracks to a shared journey. One built on co-development with the purpose of a lasting impact beyond a program's presence. The Apurva Kempinski Bali, Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Glamp Nusa, 25hours Hotels, Gran Melia Jakarta, Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta, Swissôtel Living Jakarta Mega Kuningan, Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata Bandung (NHI), Politeknik Pariwisata Bali, Politeknik Pariwisata Medan, Politeknik Pariwisata Palembang, Tourism Polytechnic of Makassar, Politeknik Pariwisata Lombok (PPL) #SkillsDevelopment #WeCreateOpportunities #dVET #MarketSystemsDevelopment #SystemicChange #EconomicDevelopment #SocialImpact #Sustainability #InclusiveGrowth #StructuredInternship #PublicPrivatePartnerships #Swisscontact #SS4C #STED

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