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The University of Macau (UM) has been certified under ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 14001: 2015, in recognition of the university’s continuous effort to improve service quality management and its commitment to environment protection. UM is the first higher education institution in Macao to obtain certification under the latest ISO management system standards. To better support the university’s development and to meet the increasing demand for high-calibre talent in Macao, UM in August 2014 moved to the new campus which is 20 times the size of the old one. Since its relocation to the new campus, the university has received growing international recognition in various areas, including teaching, academic programmes, and scientific research. Recently, it obtained certification under the latest ISO management system standards—ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 14001: 2015, in recognition of its continuous effort to improve service quality management and its commitment to environment protection. UM continuously improves the work procedures and performance of its various departments through system review. It also implements an environmental management system to promote energy conservation, resource recycling, and green purchasing, in an effort to increase environmental awareness among its staff and create a sustainable green campus. To comply with ISO 14001 standards, UM developed the Register of Environmental Aspects for its various facilities, offices, and laboratories. This allows the university to effectively monitor the environmental aspects that may be produced during the day-to-day operation of the campus, such as the disposal of laboratory waste, the discharge of pollutants, noise, and air quality. The latest ISO editions were published in September 2015, with ISO 9001：2015 being heavily revised to maintain its relevance in today’s marketplace. The new edition places greater emphasis on the support and participation of the management, risk management mindset, and sustainable development of the organisation.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the second quarter of 2016. Survey coverage comprises Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications; Security Activities and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities; however, own-account workers are excluded. At the end of the second quarter of 2016, Wholesale & Retail Trade had 56,547 persons engaged, up by 5.2% year-on-year, with 35,754 working in Retail Trade. In June 2016, average earnings (excluding bonuses) of full-time employees rose by 2.3% year-on-year to MOP12,600. Transport, Storage & Communications had 10,872 persons engaged, up by 6.8% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June rose by 4.1% year-on-year to MOP20,710. Security Activities had 10,941 persons engaged, up by 8.6% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June rose by 4.5% year-on-year to MOP12,410. Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had 839 persons engaged, up by 10.1% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in June increased by 3.1% year-on-year to MOP17,480. At the end of the second quarter of 2016, Wholesale & Retail Trade had 3,820 vacancies (68.8% in Retail Trade), down by 1,243 year-on-year. Vacancies in Security Activities rose by 249 to 1,239. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, the majority of the vacancies in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities (88.9%) and Security Activities (83.2%) only required junior secondary education or lower, while 47.2% of those in Wholesale & Retail Trade required senior secondary education or higher. As for language skills, 92.2% and 60.8% of the vacancies in Retail Trade required knowledge of Mandarin and English respectively; the corresponding rates in Security Activities were 67.6% and 43.3%. In the second quarter of 2016, the vacancy rate and recruitment rate in Wholesale & Retail Trade fell by 2.7 and 1.4 percentage points respectively year-on-year, while the turnover rate remained unchanged, indicating a decrease in demand for manpower. In addition, the vacancy rate (8.4%) in Transport, Storage & Communications dropped by 2.0 percentage points year-on-year, while the recruitment rate (4.6%) and the turnover rate (4.2%) were similar to those from a year earlier, suggesting that some of the vacancies had already been filled. As regards vocational training in the surveyed industries, a total of 16,865 participants attended 1,062 training courses provided by the establishments in the second quarter of 2016 (including courses organized by the establishments or in conjunction with other institutions, and those sponsored by the employer); 60.0% of the establishments in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities and 55.8% of those in Security Activities provided vocational training to their employees. Wholesale & Retail Trade had the largest number of participants (9,045), attending a total of 772 training courses. Analyzed by course type, 80.1% of the participants from Transport, Storage & Communications and 59.2% of those from Wholesale & Retail Trade attended courses in “Business & Administration”. Almost all of the industries had over 80% of their participants attending courses paid by the establishments.
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In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Macao Artists Society, the Macao Museum of Art under the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Macao Artist Society have co-organised the collective art exhibition “60th Anniversary of the Macao Artists Society – A Retrospective”, to be inaugurated on Wednesday, 31 August, at 6:30pm, at the Gallery of Special Exhibitions of the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, presenting a selection of 60 works with high artistic and commemorative value by 36 late artists from the Macao Artist Society. All are welcome to attend. Established in 1956, the Macao Artist Society (formerly the Macao Art Research Association) is one of the most influential art organisations in Macao and has made a remarkable contribution to local art development. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Macao Artist Society, MAM holds this anniversary exhibition to commemorate the distinguished works of pioneer artists and support the local artistic development. The exhibition features a selection of calligraphy and oil paintings, watercolours and painting in traditional Chinese ink, as well as a series of rare collaborative paintings created exclusively for the National Day of the People’s Republic of China. Encompassing Chinese and Western techniques, the artworks are of different genres, ranging from Chinese traditional paintings of natural landscapes, flowers and birds, portraits and still life, calligraphy, collage, abstract paintings as well as comics. These products of the Chinese and Western cultures are items of Macao’s cultural heritage featuring Macao’s unique human characteristics. Throughout six decades, this generation of artists has generated and cultivated, against all odds, the emergence of Macao’s artistic identity. They have elevated the city’s artistic standard significantly and laid a solid foundation for its modern art development, demonstrating their far-reaching impact on the overall advancement of art in Macao. The exhibition “60th Anniversary of the Macao Artists Society – A Retrospective” is open until 4 December at the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, located at Avenida Xian Xing Hai, and is open daily from 10am to 7pm including on public holidays (no admission after 6:30pm; closed on Mondays). Admission is free. For details about the exhibition, please visit www.MAM.gov.mo. For enquiries, please call IC through tel. no. 8791 9814 during office hours.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in August on 26 August for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Sé Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that both the unemployment rate (1.9%) and the underemployment rate (0.5%) for May-July 2016 remained stable as in April-June 2016. Total labour force was 399,400 and the labour force participation rate stood at 72.5%. Total employment increased by 1,600 from April-June, at 392,000. Analysed by industry, employment in Wholesale & Retail Trade registered increase, while that in Gaming & Junket Activities saw decrease. Number of the unemployed was 7,400, similar to that in April-June. With fresh graduates joining the labour market, the proportion of fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job increased by 6.5 percentage points to 15.5% of the total unemployed. In comparison with May-July 2015, the labour force participation rate dropped by 1.2 percentage points, while both the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point.
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The Government today signed an agreement – with provinces and regions of the Pan-Pearl River Delta – to further collaboration regarding the regional development of green events for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector. The agreement was signed on the opening day of the 11th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Fair (“PPRD Forum”). The agreement focuses on the assistance and support Macao is offering to other members of the PPRD Forum regarding MICE development. The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, was this morning in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, to witness the signing ceremony of the agreement and to attend the opening ceremony of the PPRD Forum. In addition, Mr Chui also witnessed the signing of an agreement between Macao’s Nam Kwong (group) Company Limited and the local government of the Cangshan district in Fujian Province. The agreement focuses on the 'Internet+' strategy and the development of cultural and creative industries The current edition of the PPRD Forum was the latest of several meetings so far this year to discuss furthering cooperation among PPRD members, after the State Council issued in March the Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Deepening Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation. After a keynote session held in the morning, three other sessions took place this afternoon. The afternoon sessions focused on, respectively: how better to explore cooperation opportunities between PPRD members via the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone; how to create synergies via the establishment of a planned logistics hub in coastal areas covering Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao (known as "Dawan area"); and how to develop further other potential sectors through cooperation among PPRD members. Officials attending today’s agreement signing ceremony included: the member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Secretary of Guangdong CPC Provincial Committee, Mr Hu Chunhua; the Deputy Secretary of Guangdong CPC Provincial Committee and Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Zhu Xiaodan; the Deputy Secretary of Fujian CPC Provincial Committee and Governor of Fujian, Mr Yu Weiguo; the Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Committee, Mr He Lifeng, and representatives of ministries and departments of the Central Government. The Chief Executive and some of the members of the Government delegation returned to Macao in the afternoon. Other members of the delegation tomorrow (26 August) will visit the Guangzhou Fair and three areas of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
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Real estate ranks the top of the 832 complaint cases received by Consumer Council in the first half of 2016, the total number of cases on real estate received is 105, which is 3.5 times more than the number of the same period of 2015 and over 70 percent of these involve local citizens purchasing properties in mainland China. Consumers are suggested to check clearly the status of the property and the regulations in the Mainland. Consumer Council received a total number of 3,322 cases in the first half of 2016, of which 832 are complaints, 2,464 inquiries, and 26 suggestions, involving over 80 million patacas. The number of complaints and inquiries have decreased by 6.2 percent and 7.2 percent respectively, comparing to the same period of last year, and the number of the overall cases received have decreased by 6.6 percent. The top five categories of complaints received in H1 are: real estate (105 cases), telecommunication equipment and supplies (102 cases), telecommunication services (79 cases), public transportation (49 cases), and food & beverages (48 cases). All these categories account for 46 percent of the total number of cases received. 80 complaints on local citizens buying real estate in the Mainland The number of complaints on real estates received in first half of 2016 involves about 36 million patacas, and is 3.5 times the number of cases received in the same period of 2015. 77 out of the 105 complaints involve local citizens purchasing real estates in mainland China, the Council succeeded in transferring these cases to consumer organizations in the Mainland through protocols signed with them. Consumer Council releases consumer alert Consumers are reminded to purchase finished estates with required sufficient documents to lower the risk involved, it is also suggested to ask a local lawyer to review on the contract terms and oversee the transaction process. The Council will continue to send out reminders through different channels to alert consumers about purchasing real estates in the Mainland. Increase in cases on mobile data charges and taxi services The number of complaints on telecommunication services received in the first half year has decreased by 25 percent comparing with data of the same period of 2015, 48 cases of which are about telecommunication services charges, and about 20 percent of the complaints involve mobile data charge. Telecommunication service providers are urged to make their fees and charges more transparent to avoid consumer dispute. Taxi services recorded 16 complaints in H1, which is an obvious increase when compared with the 10 cases received in the same period of 2015. Out of the 16 complaints, 12 of which are filed by tourists about overcharging and bad service, etc. Tourists’ complaints down by 10 percent Tourists’ complaints amounted to 370 cases in H1, which is about 10 percent of the total. The number of complaints received are 172, and is down 13.5 percent, comparing to the same period of 2015. A more detailed analysis of the number of cases received in the first half of 2016 can be found in Consumer Report published by the Council.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 318 MICE events were held in the second quarter of 2016, consisting of 292 meetings & conferences, 18 exhibitions and 8 incentive events. Total number of participants and attendees was 451,000. Number of meetings & conferences held in the second quarter decreased by 7 year-on-year; number of participants rose by 22.1% to 36,000 due to an increase in number of meetings & conferences having 200 participants or more. The average duration of the meetings & conferences was 1.4 days. Meanwhile, meetings & conferences of 4 hours or more decreased by 29 year-on-year to 184 while number of participants increased by 14.5% to 26,000. The average duration of these meetings & conferences was 1.9 days. There were 18 exhibitions held in the second quarter, up by 2 year-on-year. Among them, 17 exhibitions were organized by non-government organizations, and 5 exhibitions were held for the first time in Macao. The 18 exhibitions attracted a total of 392,000 attendees, up by 2.1% year-on-year. The average duration of the exhibitions was 3.4 days and total floor area used was 85,000 m2, up by 0.2 day and 27.4% respectively year-on-year. Furthermore, the 8 incentive events drew 23,000 participants; the average duration of the events was 2.0 days and total floor area used was 135,000 m2. In accordance with information collected from the organizers of 17 exhibitions in the second quarter, receipts of these exhibitions amounted to MOP 65.32 million, with rental of exhibition booths accounting for 84.2%. Expenditure of the exhibitions totalled MOP 66.16 million, which was mainly incurred on production, construction & decoration (27.8%) and publicity & public relations (22.9%). Information from the non-government organizers of 16 exhibitions indicated that receipts of these exhibitions amounted to MOP 63.90 million, of which 83.9% came from rental of exhibition booths and merely 9.5% (MOP 6.05 million) were from financial support from government or other organizations. Expenditure of the exhibitions totalled MOP 40.77 million, mainly incurred on production, construction & decoration (32.7%) and publicity & public relations (23.1%). The 17 exhibitions attracted 1,455 exhibitors, of which 33.7% came from Macao and 27.0% from Mainland China; professional visitors totalled 34,000, with those from Macao predominating (53.5%). Exhibitors and professional visitors attending exhibitions organized by non-government organizations constituted 67.8% and 90.0% of the respective total. Information from 440 interviewed exhibitors in the second quarter indicated that 95.8% of their receipts came from sales of products, while rental paid for exhibition booth accounted for 59.6% of their expenditure. Regarding comments about the MICE venue and services, over 80.0% of the interviewed exhibitors were satisfied with the professionalism, language skills, work efficiency & attitude of the venue staff, as well as the services and arrangements rendered by local companies, notably higher than the respective percentages in the first quarter of 2016. Moreover, 51.3% of the exhibitors were satisfied with the promotion of the exhibition, up by 15.5 percentage points quarter-to-quarter, while a relatively high proportion of the exhibitors (24.5%) considered that improvement was needed, down by 3.8 percentage points. As regards the venue, 77.5% of the exhibitors were satisfied with the ease of access, up by 16.3 percentage points, while 6.4% considered that improvement was needed, down by 5.2 percentage points. In the first half year of 2016, a total of 586 meetings & conferences were held, up by 10 year-on-year; total number of participants increased by 13.8% to 61,000. Meetings & conferences of 4 hours or more totalled 365, down by 44, and number of participants decreased by 4.7% to 40,000. Meanwhile, exhibitions totalled 22, down by 4 year-on-year, with number of attendees falling by 18.3% to 501,000; there were 21 exhibitions organized by non-government organizations and number of attendees (496,000) made up 98.8% of the total. Number of incentive events totalled 20, drawing 25,000 participants. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of the MICE industry in Macao, apart from the adoption of international standards, the MICE Statistics also incorporates meetings & conferences of less than 4 hours, as well as business incentive events which include those supported by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), starting from the second quarter of 2016 and the duration of events of less than 4 hours is counted as 0.5 day. Relevant statistics in the Statistics Database of the DSEC website have been updated accordingly.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, this afternoon arrived in Guangzhou, in order to attend tomorrow (25 August) the opening ceremony of the 11th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Fair (“PPRD Forum”). Mr Chui is tomorrow morning scheduled to attend a keynote event at the PPRD Forum. The Chief Executive will also witness the signing of an agreement on collaboration regarding the regional development of green events for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector. The agreement focuses on the assistance and support Macao is offering to other members of the PPRD Forum. Tomorrow afternoon, there will be three other PPRD Forum sessions focused on regional cooperation matters. Officials accompanying Mr Chui to Guangzhou include: the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Mr Fung Sio Weng; and the President of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Cheong Chou Weng. The Chief Executive and some members of the delegation will return to Macao tomorrow afternoon. The PPRD Forum was proposed in 2003 as a platform for regional cooperation between the nine provinces and two special administrative regions (SARs) – also known as the “9+2” – that are located in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region. They are: Fujian; Jiangxi; Hunan; Guangdong; Guangxi; Hainan; Sichuan; Guizhou; Yunnan; the Hong Kong SAR; and the Macao SAR.
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In order to provide diversified and advanced training opportunities for industry professionals and enhance management capabilities of the local service industry, Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and Lausanne Hospitality Consulting, which is jointly run by Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) and Swiss Hotel Association Company, co-orgainsed an Executive Development Programme on Strategic Resilience on 24 and 23 August. The programme attracted 18 professionals of hotels and mega resorts. Two representatives from tourism authorities of Myanmar and Bangladesh, nominated by UNWTO, attended the programme, namely Mr. Nyan Myat Min, Assistant Director, Directorate of Hotels and Tourism, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar, and Mr. A K M Rafiqul Islam, Executive Officer, Bangladesh Tourism Board, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism of Bangladesh. IFT is an affiliate member of UNWTO since 1997, and have established a long-term cooperation relationship with UNWTO. In 2012 an agreement between IFT and UNWTO was signed, with the objective to enhance the cooperation and knowledge exchange. Through the programme, participants learned how to identify and overcome the challenges of the world today by developing their strategic leadership skills. Besides, they were equipped to anticipate strategy decay and plan for resilience by business process reengineering and innovation. Programme topics include: • Key aspects of reinventing the business model • Elements of a successful business model • Difference between growth and value creation • Tips for successfully implementing strategic resilience in small-and-medium- sized enterprises IFT had the honour of inviting Prof. André Mack as the facilitator of this programme. Prof. Mack is the Director at Lausanne Hospitality Consulting and a faculty member for EHL Executive Education, lecturing on project management and consulting. He has extensive experiences in the in-flight catering industry and management consulting. He is specialised in the areas of strategic marketing, customer service and business process reengineering. As the tourism and hospitality industry is growing swiftly in Macao, the demand for knowledgeable professionals is increasing and thus hotel management needs to upgrade themselves to cope with the changing market trends. IFT is always striving to enhance its teaching and research so as to contribute to the tourism industry and the society. By organising seminars and workshops, IFT constantly shares with the industry the most updated information and research findings about the future development of Macao’s tourism industry and ways to enhance it. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 97 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 7 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
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