InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) recently announced the signing of three new IHG Academies in China, all of which are in partnership with colleges that have strong tourism and hospitality management programs. The three colleges are Tianjin Vocational Institute, Guangzhou City Construction College and Shenzhen Polytechnic, respectively.

The first IHG Academy was established in June 2006 in Shanghai to address the huge demand for trained talents in China's rapidly growing hospitality industry. The IHG Academy has quickly expanded across China since then, continuously attracting young people dedicated to pursuing their career in China's burgeoning hospitality industry.

Each IHG Academy works with a local tourism college or vocational institution to offer theoretical sessions by university faculty members, industry lectures by senior IHG executives and hands-on internships. Every year, the IHG Academies collectively produce more than 5,000 experienced graduates ready to enter the hospitality industry.

"We believe that attracting, training and retaining qualified talents is crucial to our success," said Winnie Ng, vice president of human resources for IHG Greater China. "It is our working staff who make us stand out from competitions and delivers our brand promises. We are responsible and committed to investing in and nurturing local talents. This is not just for IHG, but for the sustained and greater prosperity of the hospitality industry as a whole."

China is developing rapidly, which naturally leads to a greater demand for hospitality talents. Greater China will become the world's No.1 inbound tourist destination by 2015, with an estimated 183 million overnight stays. Meanwhile, China recorded more than 1.9 billion domestic tourist-trips in 2010, and that number is expected to grow in 2011 and beyond. 

InterContinental Hotels Group's (IHG) in-house sustainability system Green Engage was recently awarded with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) volume pre-certification, the first hotel company to receive the award for an existing program.

The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED rating system is the preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Volume pre-certification is a preliminary step that provides a streamlined path to LEED certification for a large group of hotels based on a pre-approved prototype and process.

IHG says Green Engage can deliver a hotel more than $90,000 in annual energy savings by making it 15 percent to 20 percent more energy efficient. The online tool allows hotels to measure, manage and report environmental impacts, and accounts for guest experience and return on investment.