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In 2001, aged 29, Tony Fritsche started a company to fill what he saw was a fundamental gap in the hospitality market for a responsive and flexible 24-hour operational staffing service. He believed that customer service and practical skills were fast diminishing as a result of the tightening labour market.
His strategy was to hire ‘attitude’ and then teach skills as part of a certified training program.
In 2003, Tony signed an innovative agreement to provide hundreds of trainees to Crown Casino under a contract labour model. The following year he established a nationally registered training organisation.
With offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Queensland (opening June 09), the Mint Group offers customised human resource solutions to a broad range of organisations across the Asia Pacific Region which includes executive and non-executive recruitment, contract labour, certified training and HR/Management consulting. Today, Mint is an impressive business with growing revenues and 500 employees.
Currently, the group provides certified training programs to four of the largest accommodation hotel chains nationally, as well as casinos and sporting & entertainment venues, Mint Group has also provided executive recruitment and consulting services to Hotel Chains in Asia.
The Group’s success comes from the fact that it controls the whole of the value chain, which allows it to create competitive advantages. For example, Mint uses the Government funding attracted through training to subsidise the cost of delivering these services. Customers then use these saving to offset or fund other Mint services.
Essentially, Mint has made HR a profit centre.
Tony attributes his success to maintaining his personal and business integrity at all times. Now that Mint is a regional provider of HR services, Tony’s future plans include opening up new international markets, expanding Mint’s product offering and diversifying into new industries. | 
