INTERVIEW – Wings Academy
1. Kindly tell us something about your work profile/business including yourself.
Wings Academy specializes in providing comprehensive training solutions focused on exceptional customer experience, professional image, effective communication and leadership in many industries, especially in the hospitality, retail and banking sectors. With a team of experienced local and international experts, we are committed to enhancing employee capabilities and optimizing business performance.
Ms. Huynh Cao Yen Phuong – Wings Academy’s founder and CEO – is the former National Learning & Development Manager Vietnam at Accorhotels. She has over 20 years of experience in training individuals and enterprises domestically and internationally on professional image, service culture, and communication skills.
Phuong’s connection to the hospitality industry runs deep: all of Phuong’s family members have forged successful careers in the hospitality sector. Growing up in such an environment nurtured her understanding of true hospitality and inspired her life-long dedication to improve the industry’s growth and professionalism in Vietnam. Her background in education also helped shape a mindset focused on creating learning experiences that are both informative and transformative, with the foundation of effective learning rooted in the learners themselves.
Ms. Nguyen Huong Duong, General Manager, manages day-to-day operations and coordinates training programs. With a background in human resources and a deep interest in service excellence as well as meaningful service, Duong ensures the smooth delivery of each training engagement, working closely with the internal team, clients, trainers to ensure the quality of each training program.
“Inspire others for their own shining” – a quote by Phuong – is more than a personal motto, but a brand motto. It is the team’s guiding message in not only how we design and deliver our training programs, but also how we interact with learners and partners.
2. What made you / your company decide to develop in Asian market especially in Vietnam?
Wings Academy was founded in Vietnam by a Vietnamese person, so we understand the Vietnamese market and culture. We are supposed to bridge the competence gap to all people living in Vietnam, including expats.
3. How has your professional career or your company’s career developed since then?
Starting from a hotel pre-opening training project in Ho Chi Minh City in partnership with an industry expert from the Netherlands, Wings Academy has steadily grown into a trusted training partner for many leading companies. We have expanded our scope and services, and impact through various training programs and projects, serving clients in many industries: hospitality, finance and banking, retail, education, medical & healthcare, construction, architecture, manufacturing as well as personal development for C-level people and celebrities through coaching programs.
4. As far as your sector stands today, what services Wings Academy offers to their clients?
Our training solutions are tailor-made to match with each client’s objectives in both Vietnamese and English. Our services consist of:
- Consulting learning & development
- Designing learning materials
- Delivering and facilitating
- Developing visualized SOP
- Mystery guest
5. What do you think are the biggest challenges for this sector in the future?
We believe that the biggest challenges for this sector is, first and foremost, staying relevant in such a fast-paced world. The speed of change in industries, technologies and learner expectations require us to constantly update our content and approach to avoid monotony in our training sessions and to keep up with the industry demands.
At the same time, while digital learning tools and AI create new exciting approaches to learning in general, they also pose the risk of losing human connection. Maintaining engagement and the human elements in this tech-driven era will be a crucial strategy to keep staying relevant.
6. What type of promotional and communication campaigns do you work on?
We communicate our services via our channels:
Website: wingsacademy.vn/en
- Fanpage: facebook.com/wingsacademyvn; facebook.com/Wingsstudiobywa
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wings-academy-vn
We apply promotional code case by case, based on the numbers of learning sessions or some special cases.
7. What is your advice to companies interested in your services?
We listen to all your training needs and design the best approach to maximize the outcome and the budget. Please come & talk to us.
8. Please tell us a little about the future plans of your company in Vietnam.
We are developing more training programs for the expats living and working in Vietnam.