Building Hospitality Excellence: Sands Prioritizes Industry Education Around the World

Las Vegas Sands

A major component of Sands’ 2021-2025 ambition to invest $200 million in workforce development is building hospitality industry excellence in its regions around the world and helping people working in the sector advance. The company’s hospitality education priorities include attracting new talent to the industry and building capability through professional and job skills development programs.

“Our broad investments in hospitality education focus on contributing to the success of our industry, but they also complement our other priorities such as helping underrepresented groups advance through the many pathways offered in hospitality,” Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, said. “Ultimately, a thriving hospitality sector supports jobs in a range of fields and at all levels, contributing to economic strength and vitality in our regions.”

Hospitality Scholarship Programs

Scholarships for hospitality students are an important part of Sands’ efforts, and last year, the company launched a new partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the only national association representing Hispanic-serving Institutions, to spur the success of hospitality students at HSIs.

Sands and HACU awarded 13 students at HACU-member schools with Sands Hospitality Advancement Scholarships in the amounts of $5,000 or $2,500 to support their preparation for careers in the travel, tourism and leisure industry. Students who received scholarships attend University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of North Texas; College of Southern Nevada; and Dallas College.

In 2024, Marina Bay Sands welcomed the second cohort of 34 Sands Hospitality Scholarship recipients, a joint initiative with Sands to develop a pipeline of hospitality talent in Singapore. In total, the $1 million initiative will benefit more than 100 Singaporean students pursuing hospitality and tourism-related studies in six Institutes of Higher Learning.

Finally, Sands China donated more than $130,000 in November to seven higher education institutions, marking the company’s 18th year of providing scholarship and fellowship funding to students at Macao tertiary institutions in support of higher education. Sands China’s contributions have benefited more than 1,800 local students since 2006.

Career-Track Education

In addition to supporting higher education, Sands and its regions offer hospitality students and professionals several opportunities for real-world experience. In Las Vegas, Sands hosted the second Sands Hospitality Immersion Program last summer in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the only national organization exclusively representing the Black college community.

Launched in 2023, the experience provides students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities with a deep introduction to the Las Vegas travel, tourism and leisure industry through a week of immersive programming curated by the Harrah College of Hospitality’s Sands Center for Professional Development at UNLV.

Sands Cares funding also underwrote a Las Vegas Study Tour for 16 hospitality students from the University of North Texas, College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism in early June. The study tour included a stop at Sands’ corporate headquarters where students learned about the variety of professional career tracks in the industry from company executives, including UNT alum, executive vice president and CFO Randy Hyzak.

Finally, Sands launched a summer intern program at corporate headquarters this past summer and welcomed 10 interns for the 10-week program. Participants were embedded in corporate business functions in which they contributed to a variety of projects and received mentoring from Sands Team Members, giving them real-world experience and an insider’s view into the operations of a global hospitality company.

In Macao, Sands China launched the All-Round Convention and Exhibition Management Program, a fast-track career development initiative held in conjunction with Macao’s Labor Affairs Bureau. More than 200 participants enrolled in the program, which provides in-depth instruction and international exposure.

This effort complements education opportunities offered by the Sands Hospitality Academy, established by Sands China in 2023 to advance hospitality skills and vocational knowledge among Team Members, cultivate talent among interested youth, and set the highest international standards for the region’s hospitality industry.

The company also continued its program to inspire the next generation of hospitality workers, the Sands China Youth Development Series, which trains young professionals and new talent in the hospitality industry. In 2024, the series delivered training programs in areas such as food and beverage operations, hotel operations, facilities management and business analysis.

In Singapore, Marina Bay Sands again supported local job seekers with a job fair that promoted nearly 1,000 full-time, temporary and internship positions at the resort. More than 3,000 job seekers participated in informational presentations and visited booths hosted by the resort and 10 local partners.

Higher Education Investments

In December, Sands announced a major corporate investment in higher education – a $15 million contribution to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Foundation to establish the Sands Institute for Chinese Language and Culture, which will offer comprehensive programs to promote appreciation and understanding of Chinese language, traditions and history.

As Las Vegas continues to grow as a global hub for tourism, hospitality, business and sports, the ability to understand and engage with Chinese citizens and culture becomes increasingly important. The Sands Institute will equip industry leaders and workers with the cultural competence needed to navigate and succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.

“The Sands Institute will significantly increase learning opportunities for local students and community members, providing them with the tools to engage more effectively with the world around them,” UNLV Executive Vice President and Provost Chris L. Heavey said in the announcement. “The incredibly generous support from Sands is crucial in bringing this vision to life, and we look forward to the opportunities it will create for our university and the wider Las Vegas community.”

This latest contribution to UNLV builds on the company’s long-term work with the university on hospitality education initiatives, which includes the Sands Center for Professional Development at the UNLV Harrah College of Hospitality.

To learn more about Sands’ investments in building hospitality industry excellence and its priority on workforce development, read the company’s latest ESG report: https://www.sands.com/resources/reports/