Twenty-two master trainers and 20 master assessors celebrated theirgraduation day on December 16 in Manila, the Philippines afterweeks of a comprehensive training course of Master Trainers and MasterAssessors for Food and Beverages (F&B) Service Division conducted bythe William Angliss Institute.

The course is part of a programmeto support the implementation of Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA)on Tourism Professional which allows certified tourism professionals towork in other ASEAN countries.

Taking into account the highinterest of the region's tourism training and education institutions andtourism industries, ASEAN would soon have high-qualified tourismprofessionals working in the industry delivering high quality services.

This is the fourth batch of graduates, after the first batchfor Housekeeping Division arranged in Bali in November-December 2012,the second batch for Food Production Division organised in Bangkok inSeptember 2014 and the third batch for Front Office Division in Baliin October this year.

In total, the region has 172 qualifiedASEAN tourism professionals for housekeeping, food production, F&Bservices and front office. The figure is expected to hit 6,000 in 2015when the ASEAN Community is formed.

The graduation ceremony wasfollowed by a special ASEAN Tourism Professional Monitoring Committee(ATPMC) meeting and a regional workshop on finalising the trainingpackage to ensure consistency of the delivery throughout the region.

The Pilot Programme for ASEAN National Trainers and Assessorswill be conducted in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam inMarch and April next year.

This programme is funded by the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Programme (AADCP) Phase II.-VNA