Introduction
One of the fastest growing sectors of the economy nowadays is the hospitality industry. The hospitality industry alone is a multi-billion growing enterprise. It attracts diverse kinds of people with different fields of interest. In addition, the hospitality industry is one of the oldest businesses in history. People have always gone out to eat sometimes and traveled for work or leisure purposes, and with these HRM staffs are needed to accommodate them. The hospitality industry is defined as the activity of providing lodging, food and beverage, and recreational services, which include but are not limited to hotels, motels, clubs, casinos, restaurants, recreation facilities, tourism, cruise lines and theme parks.
Furthermore, hospitality management involves the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of human and material resources within the lodging, restaurant, travel and tourism, institutional management, recreational management and meeting and convention planning industries (2006). All of these separate yet related segments of the hospitality industry are interrelated to deliver kind and generous services to guests.
Different Career Paths in the Hospitality Industry
Entering the hospitality industry means that you can direct your own career path. There are many different career paths in the hospitality industry. Everything from receptionists, chefs and sales managers; from hotel jobs to restaurant jobs to airline jobs. “Cross-training” is a buzzword in the hospitality industry; it means the acquisition of skills in more than one area (2008). . Managers encourage cross training because it gives them a multi-talented workforce who can be utilized as required in various departments. And having experience in more than one area means that even more choices are possible on one’s career path. There are wide ranges of courses offered for the hospitality industry. It depends on the school where you are going to take it up. Some of the universal courses that is unquestionably offered in an hospitality industry career are management of food and beverage service, hospitality sanitation and safety, hotel management,
The following are specific career opportunities you can obtain in the hospitality industry:
LODGING
– Hotel Manager
– Sales Manager
– Travel Journalist
– Front Office Manager
– Reservation Manager
FOOD & BEVERAGE
– Restaurant Manager
– Kitchen Manager
– Banquet Manager
– Chef
– Bar/Club Manager
RECREATIONAL SERVICES
– Campground Manager
– Tour Escort/Operator
– Meeting/Conference Planner
– Travel Consultant
– Recreation Specialist (, 1999).
The Need for Training and Skills
Employers have difficulty finding workers who possess basic “soft skills,” which are often a prerequisite for success in a customer service-oriented field (1988). English proficiency is a key challenge because a large percentage of the hospitality workforce does not speak English as their primary language. Employers seek language training programs that allow workers to effectively perform their job, which includes providing quality customer service and understanding safety requirements. Employers will be just as interested in the personal qualities of the employee. The hospitality industry is extremely customer focused so being able to demonstrate a genuine interest in providing excellent customer service is an utmost importance. Being interested in people, energetic, outgoing, flexible, creative, hardworking, reliable are skills that are needed because the hospitality industry is a social business.
Furthermore, with the hospitality industry’s growth rate increasing, the importance of finding good employees, especially youth workers, is a high priority. Historically, the hospitality industry has drawn heavily from the youth labor pool to meet their workforce needs, but in recent years, the industry has been left with an insufficient pipeline of new workers to satisfy demand (, 2008). Faced with a shrinking pipeline of workers, the hospitality industry is increasing its recruitment efforts towards youth and developing targeted strategies for previously untapped labor pools. Being an HRM graduate is truly an advantage in penetrating the hospitality industry scene—with the right amount of skills and knowledge—it surely is the path to success
Benefits of HRM
The Human Resource Management degree examines the role of the individual in an organization as well as aspects of organizational structure, culture, and change. Other areas studied include the role of groups and teams; comparative aspects of commercial, public, and voluntary organizations and the behavior of individual firms. It aims to develop an appreciation of the broader context in which all organizations operate, such as the influence of government policy, the impact of social and economic change and the demands of internationalization.
References
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment