Local youngsters advised to consider career in hospitality
In fact, anywhere where service and good people skills are required.
The world is truly your oyster if you have an international hospitality accreditation in hand.
What’s more, many hospitality management skills are transferable, so graduates can switch between industries and take on new opportunities as their life’s journey progresses.
“I always tell my students that the hospitality industry is so broad they need to place themselves within it, and what you start doing is not necessarily what you will do for the rest of your life,” said Etresia Booysen, a senior lecturer at The IIE School of Hospitality & Service Management (IIE HSM) in Rosebank.
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“A hospitality qualification gives people a grounding and building blocks for several job prospects and careers.”
When you hear the word “hospitality”, the first thing that comes to mind is establishments such as hotels, resorts and restaurants, and while those businesses exist within the hospitality world, in reality, the industry is extensive, spanning countless careers across a large number of companies.
A good hospitality qualification not only prepares students for the hospitality industry but provides them with a wide range of service-oriented skills and trains them to think, plan and execute with the guest and consumer in mind.
Hospitality management degrees provide graduates with a strong set of transferable skills, including those in high demand in sectors outside of traditional hospitality roles, including management consulting, sports management, the financial sector and eCommerce.
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In fact, anywhere where service and good people skills are required.
Luca Clark (22) from Melrose North, who completed his three-year Bachelor of Hotel Management (BOHM) at IIE HSM, doesn’t see himself always working in a traditional hospitality role in a hotel or restaurant.
“I plan to embark on a sabbatical year dedicated to experiential learning and travel. My primary strategy for achieving this goal is to seek employment aboard cruise ships.
“My professional ambition is rooted in active participation in the events sector, with a long-term vision of launching a prominent events company dedicated to orchestrating large-scale music festivals,” said Clark.
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Booysen believes formal and recognised hospitality qualifications have become essential, particularly in response to growing market demand, paired with an increasing global shift to a service-focused and experience economy.
Another soon-to-be graduate is 21-year-old Zanelda Kok from Germiston, who plans to work internationally and dreams of owning her own hotel or small establishment.
For her, the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience, where she worked in a management capacity in a hotel, has been crucial in developing her skill set.
“The industry is continuously growing, and I believe that with hard work, my future is bright,” she said.
In fact, travel and tourism are two of the fastest-growing industries in the world today.
The State of Hospitality 2022 believes hospitality operations will soon surpass pre-Covid-19 levels to the value of $502.7b.
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By 2025, growth is forecast to reach $846b in total spending within the travel and tourism industry.
Tourism and hospitality constitute 4.7% of the total global GDP growth annually, equal to the construction industry.
As of 2021, there were 17.4m global hotel rooms available to travellers. This is projected to grow to 18.6m by the end of 2024.
The greatest proportional increase will be upscale luxury hotels, increasing from 4.1m in 2021 to 4.7m in 2024, a crucial opportunity for upcoming hospitality graduates.
Perhaps most striking is the massive talent gap in the hospitality and travel industries.
Up to 14m new hospitality graduates will be needed to fill this skills gap by 2025.
“By studying hospitality management, students acquire tangible in-demand skills employers look for in candidates.
“This applies to not only upper-level management skills and operation processes but also marketable skills such as teamwork, leadership, design thinking, finance and budgeting and marketing,” said Renee Hill, IIE HSM’s MD.
