5 days ago
Nassim Hill origins, Michelin-starred alumni: Shatec over the years
[SINGAPORE] With alumni ranging from Jimmy Lim – the first Singaporean to earn three Michelin stars – to Far East Hospitality CEO Arthur Kiong, long-established hospitality institute Shatec has taught 40,000 students since its founding in 1983.
But the school is now scaling down its operations, shutting its Orchard satellite campus – barely a year-and-a-half since it opened – and putting up its main Bukit Batok campus for sale. The Business Times traces the history of the region's first dedicated hospitality school.
Jul 2, 1983: The Singapore Hotel Association establishes the Singapore Hotel Association Training and Education Centre (Shatec) at 24 Nassim Hill, with the official opening attended by Minister of State for Education Tay Eng Soon.
The school is set up with grants from the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board and support from the Singapore Development Federation and National Productivity Board.
It aims to train new hospitality talent and upskill industry professionals. Its initial courses were developed in collaboration with Swiss hospitality school Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne.
1990: Plans to incorporate industry training schools, such as Shatec, under Temasek Polytechnic – which is being built – are 'being shelved, but not dropped altogether', says Dr Tay, who is now senior minister of state for education.
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April 1990: Shatec announces plans to grow its capacity to 4,000 training places in the next five years, up from the current 1,300; and its full-time student population to 1,500, from 500.
June 1990: The institute launches Singapore's first diploma course in tourism.
1992: Shatec wins the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board's Outstanding Contribution to Tourism award.
1993: Shatec launches plans to train and certify part-timers to tackle manpower crunch.
1993-1994: The school opens a campus in Mount Sophia, after Methodist Girls' School moves out of the space in 1993.
1999: Shatec wins Tourism Host of the Year in the hotel category of the Singapore Tourism Awards.
2000-2001: The institute moves out of its Nassim Hill and Mount Sophia locations, and into a new campus in Bukit Batok.
2004: Shatec launches a new College of Culinary Arts, and introduces a new event-catering course alongside its existing diploma in culinary skills and diploma in pastry and baking.
April 2004: The World Gourmet Summit recognises Shatec as Culinary Institution of the Year.
2004: Shatec gains the Singapore Quality Class for Private Education Organisations accreditation.
2006: It attains Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) accreditation from the Workforce Development Agency, which came before SkillsFuture Singapore.
2008: Shatec rebrands itself as Shatec Institutes, and establishes seven new institutes: Institute for Hosting; Institute of Leisure & Tourism; Institute of Lodging; Institute of Restaurants & Bars; Institute of Wines & Spirits; Institute of Culinary Arts; and Institute of Pastry & Baking.
2009: It becomes the first Asian institution to be inducted into the World Gourmet Summit's Hall of Fame, for winning the Culinary Institution of the Year award for four consecutive years.
2012: SkillsFuture Singapore appoints Shatec as a continuing education and training (CET) centre for the tourism and food and beverage industries, with funding available for up to 90 per cent of the fees for WSQ programmes.
The institute also opens a new city-centre venue in Middle Road, offering part-time and skills-upgrading courses.
2014: Shatec signs agreements to formalise collaborations with overseas schools Meiho University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Hotel and Tourism Management.
Jan 15, 2024: The institute opens a satellite campus in the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) Tourism Court building in the Orchard area.
2024: Supported by Enterprise Singapore, STB and the Saudi Arabian government, Shatec sets up its first overseas school in Riyadh. This is under a licence agreement with Modern Hospitality Company, a joint venture by Saudi companies that will fund and run the school.
August 2024: Shatec announces its pivot from pre-employment training to CET, to refocus on mid-career training and reskilling.
January 2025: A new management team takes over.
March 2025: The Sapling, a training restaurant for Shatec students, shutters its doors as the school 'transitions away from full-time programmes'.
Apr 1, 2025: Shatec begins 'a business containment exercise' that involves the scaling down of operations and the retrenchment of 42 staff members.
May 2025: CBRE puts Shatec's Bukit Batok campus up for sale, with an approximate value of S$18 million.
End-June 2025: Shatec closes its Orchard campus.
