Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, recently welcomed representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) for a knowledge-sharing session focused on disability-inclusive business practices. The visit underscores the group's growing recognition as a model for Disability-Inclusive Employment and Business (DIEB) within the hospitality industry.

The session builds on a long-standing partnership between Centara Life Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre Chaeng Watthana, APCD, and Thailand's Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. Since 2019, the three organisations have worked together to deliver vocational training and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, with the programme entering its sixth consecutive year in 2026.

The training equips participants with hands-on hospitality skills and practical, on-the-job experience across multiple hotel departments, including Food & Beverage Service, Front Office, Housekeeping, and Laundry Operations. To date, the programme has supported nearly 100 individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 59.

Its impact extends beyond training with some former participants being employed full-time at Centara Life Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre Chaeng Watthana, illustrating the programme's ability to translate skills development into lasting employment outcomes.

The initiative reflects a broader element of Centara's sustainability strategy, which prioritises social stewardship and equal opportunity for vulnerable groups through skills development, workplace inclusion, and sustained employment pathways. Centara has positioned collaboration with organisations such as JICA and APCD as central to advancing this work, both in strengthening its own inclusive employment practices and in contributing to the wider development of disability-inclusive business models across the hospitality sector and society as a whole.