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P
assion,
excellence,
leader-
ship. These three words have
come to strongly epitomize the
KinderWorld Education Group
and Pegasus.
Established in Singapore in 1986,
KEG came to Vietnam in 2000 with
two brands – KinderWorld International
Kindergarten (KIK) and Singapore Inter-
national School (SIS). Eleven years later
it launched its third brand, Pegasus,
addressing post-secondary and higher
education and training.
There are now 13 KEG campuses
throughout Vietnam, employing over
800 people. Their vision, to be the pre-
eminent private education provider,
has now expanded into the develop-
ment of the SIS Super School brand,
one of which is under construction in
Danang, while another is planned for
Gamuda Gardens, Hanoi.
Following the establishment of
Pegasus International UniCentre in Ha-
noi in 2011, the development of the
Pegasus brand has also quickened.
2011 also saw Pegasus UniCollege
operating as a Registered Training
Organization in Australia. This year
construction of Pegasus International
UniCollege commenced. This is part of
the mixed education, commercial and
residential project in Danang. Also this
year, the Ministry of Higher Education
in Malaysia gave approval for the es-
tablishment of Pegasus College in the
Iskandar region, just north of the Singa-
pore causeway.
Along with these, KEG has further
extensive initiatives on the drawing
board for Vietnam and the wider ASEAN
community.
The drive to provide an alternative,
multi-level educational pathway for
the young people of Vietnam requires
unparalleled commitment, investment
and passion from the KEG Board. With-
out this passion, there would be no vi-
sion. Without the vision, there would be
no commitment. Without the commit-
ment, there would be no investment.
KEG’s success has been dependent
on its continuing commitment to fos-
ter excellence in teaching and learn-
ing by providing quality educators and
first-class learning environments, thus
becoming leaders in the educational
landscape of Vietnam.
The primary educational focus of
the Pegasus brand is hospitality, tour-
ism and the culinary arts along with the
delivery of English language courses,
particularly functional hospitality Eng-
lish. Other areas will address business
and commerce and professional devel-
opment of the teaching profession. This
focus has not come about by accident.
About 5 per cent of Vietnam’s GDP
is derived from the tourism and hos-
pitality industry. These combined sec-
tors currently employ about 10 per
cent of the labour force, therefore
making it one of the country’s key em-
ployment industries.
Despite numerous efforts by gov-
ernment and other agencies, KEG has
come to realise that action is still need-
ed to improve the quality of tourism
and hospitality in Vietnam and for Viet-
nam to bring its tourism and hospitality
workforce to international standards.
The establishment of a TourismAdvi-
sory Board and the expansion of the Viet-
nam Tourism Occupational Skills Stand-
ards System to cover more professions
and its commitment to the ASEAN Com-
mon Competency Standards for Tourism
Professionals are signs that the govern-
ment is committed to improving Viet-
nam’s position in the global marketplace.
However, KEG still sees a great need
to improve the sector’s performance,
which the Financial Times has described
as having ‘yet to live up [to its] potential’.
It is also recognised that the tour-
ism and hospitality industry in Vietnam
is still experiencing a shortage of well-
trained staff. Continuing, rapid expan-
sion is demanding that the develop-
ment of human capital should keep
pace. Sadly, this is not the case. De-
mand seems to be outstripping supply,
particularly for well-trained graduates
who are job-ready.
With as many as sixty to seventy
percent of new graduates needing re-
Dr
Hank Duyverman
, College
Dean, Pegasus International
UniCollege, Danang elaborates on
what it will take to improve
Vietnam’s tourism industry
26
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THE PEGASUS VISION
EDUCATION
KinderWorld’s Mixed Education, Commercial
and Residential Complex in Danang