Taipei (CNA) A tourism college in eastern Taiwan signed an agreement with a foreign institute Friday to train Taiwanese hoping to work in the gambling industry.

Lee Ming-hui, principal of the Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College (THTC) in Hualien, signed the training program agreement with James Kong, a representative of the U.S.-based Galaxy Training Institute (GTI).

Under the agreement, a three-stage training program will be offered with basic courses pertaining to the gambling industry taught in Taipei in the first phase.

In the second phase, courses on professional dealing at casinos will be taught at the THTC campus in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, and in the final phase, training modules on casino dealing and management will be offered in Singapore.

The 300-hour training program will begin formally at the end of March, with tuition costs expected to range between TWD 100,000 and TWD 130,000.

Kong noted that although there are other qualification requirements for applicants to the training program, the main assets of potential workers in the casino business are „English and math ability and physical fitness.“

Under the terms of a recently passed bill that paved the way for the opening of casinos in Taiwan, the gambling industry will „integrate tourism and entertainment“ and there will be more to it than just gambling, Lee said.

More importantly, there will be satellite business opportunities in areas such as a holiday village, transportation network, upscale boutiques and conventions and exhibitions, he added.