MSpa International – operator of the Mandara and Anantara brands – has opened a new training facility in Thailand in order to support its ongoing expansion plans.

Located next to its head office in Bangkok’s Sukhumvit district, the centre has four training rooms with a maximum capacity of 12 students each, complete with custom-made massage tables and a separate conference room.

The facility currently operates training programmes for spa managers, consultants and therapists. It is also committed to developing new training schemes for both new and existing employees in order to ensure that staff work with both confidence and dignity.

The centre was planned and conceptualised by the group’s director of education and training, Dieter Buchner, in order to support its ambitious expansion plans to grow its portfolio from 28 to 80 spas by the end of 2008.

Buchner said: “Training builds equity for our team members as well as for the company. Our programmes provide staff with a skills base that can be applied in any location while allowing them to immerse themselves in our brands.”