“Apateu, apateu, Apateu, apateu, Apateu, apateu, Uh, uh-huh, uh-huh.”
 

As Bruno Mars and South Korean girl group Blackpink member Rosé belt out the lyrics to their viral pop hit “APT.”, a stuffed bear clad in a postmaster’s outfit grooves along.
 

Named Robby, the Fullerton Hotels and Resorts’ mascot takes audiences on a journey through the Fullerton Heritage Precinct – an upscale shopping and dining cluster comprising seven redeveloped heritage properties, which include The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Bay Hotel.

Mr Gino Tan with Fullerton Hotels and Resorts’ mascots Robby (left) and Lizzy (right). (Photo: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore)
 

The reel – created for social media and posted on Instagram in November– was created by an SIT intern with the marketing department at the hotel group.
  

She was one of around 10 students posted to the group under the Singapore Institute of Technology’s (SIT) Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP) in 2024. 
 

“I don’t think this idea would come from a millennial or a Gen X,” Mr Gino Tan, Country General Manager of the group, said with a laugh.  
 

Mr Tan, who has been in the hospitality industry for three decades, first heard the pop hit thanks to the reel. He praised the student for her creativity and credited her idea for refreshing the group’s branding.   
 

By using a viral pop song, the reel, which raked up close to 6,000 views, helped the group appeal to younger audiences. 
  

Launched in 2015, IWSP is a compulsory work attachment of eight to 12 months aimed at helping students gain real work experience. A longtime supporter of the IWSP, Mr Tan has mentored close to 100 SIT students over the past 10 years.  
 

“This collaboration has given hospitality business students the chance to deep-dive into the day-to-day operations of a hotel and pick up valuable skills that will serve them well in the future,” he said.  
 

Unlocking Potential  
 

Cultivating and retaining talent has always been a challenge for the hospitality industry, and this has become even more prevalent after the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Mr Tan.  
 

Customer service, teamwork, and empathy – skills that are prized in the industry – are also highly transferable and have led to further talent drain, he added.  
 

More critically, there has been a noticeable decline in local talent, with many opting to leave the industry due to the job’s nature of long hours and manual labour. 
 

“We cannot always import foreign talent. There has to be a good balance between local and foreign talent,” he said. 
 

As such, the veteran hotelier is always keen to help groom the next generation of homegrown hospitality leaders – a prime opportunity that programmes such as IWSP present.  
 

Every year, Mr Tan meets the interns when they are onboarded in April, checks in on them at the midway point, and then delivers a final lesson at the end of the internship in December.  
 

“At the start, I’ll bounce ideas off them and ask them what they hope to achieve, contribute, and impart during the internship,” he said. 
 

Having just conducted his final reflection session with this year’s batch of IWSP interns, he is heartened by their growth in the short span of time. For example, many of them gained the confidence to better engage with the public after operating mooncake booths for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
  

“Some of them are quite introverted, so this pushed them out of their comfort zone,” said Mr Tan.  
 

Talents of Tomorrow 
 

Some interns have surprised him in more impressive ways. When Mr Tan joined The Fullerton Hotels and Resorts in 2021, he found a former intern, Mr Tay Wei Sheng, among his colleagues.  
 

The duo first met in 2018 at Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts, where Wei Sheng completed his IWSP as a hospitality business major under Mr Tan’s mentorship.   
 

As they worked together at The Fullerton group, Mr Tan quickly saw Wei Sheng’s potential, and the group decided to groom him as a future leader. Wei Sheng, 30, is now Senior Sales Manager. 

Wei Sheng (right) reunited with Mr Gino Tan at The Fullerton group after his initial IWSP at Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts in 2018. (Photo: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore)
 

“He’s got the aptitude and attitude. I think that he embodies (the values) of a SIT student and brings them to the organisation,” said Mr Tan, who admires his tenacity and patience while on the job.
 

Another former SIT intern whom Mr Tan mentored in 2016/2017 is now the Director of Revenue at Marriott Group. Her tenacity and dedication to her work were what most impressed him during her IWSP.
 

“I have never come across an intern who comes at seven in the morning to get her work done,” he said.
 

These rising talents have given Mr Tan confidence that the industry will be in good hands. He also credits programmes like IWSP for instilling the right work ethic and giving them a strong foundation.
 

“I particularly appreciate how the students are encouraged to treat the internship as real jobs. They apply for the position like any other full-time job, setting professional standards from the start,” he explained. “I applaud SIT for doing that.”