The importance of speaking foreign languages in the International Hospitality Business

The world gets smaller and smaller and one can reach any continent and country within a couple of hours of air-travel. This also means that people from different cultures, speaking different languages meet and need (and wish) to communicate. Previous generations wished to introduce ESPERANTA as the common language for intercultural communication; today however the trend is that all citizens of the world consider English as the International language of communication. In most countries, English is taught as the second language.

Switzerland

Depending on regions this might be different. A good example is Switzerland, since in this small country of 7 million inhabitants four national languages are spoken. It is expected that citizens speak at least two of the national languages, and English is taught from an early age. There are many other bilingual or multilingual countries in the world.

Hotel Management schools in Switzerland are also multicultural. Member schools of ASEH (Association Suisse des Ecoles Hôtelières) teach programs in English, French or German. All schools require their instruction in one Swiss national language as well as English. (list of member schools can be found at www.aseh.ch - homepage "members")

Learn and perfect a language while on internship

Students would also gain additional language skills depending upon which Swiss language region they do their paid internship. Obviously tourists come from many different countries and will always be very pleased to be greeted or helped in their mother tongue. I am sure all readers know how nice it feels to get a welcome in your own language or even dialect.

Swiss trained hospitality managers often speak four languages and therefore get employment and career opportunities all over the world.

Do not forget that the learning of another language helps to better understand foreign culture.

The Hospitality Industry - Creating Opportunities

The International hotel Industry is facing an extreme shortage of talented, competent, well trained AND experienced Management staff. It is well documented that the Hospitality Industry is expanding worldwide and figures show that by the year 2005 the industry will employ more than 200 million workers.

As an illustration of how one can study in Australia to enter this profession, lets look at The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. B.M.I.H.M.S recognizes that students, as individuals, have different motivations, desires and goals. As a consequence, they have developed and implemented a variety of courses designed to appeal to and meet the expectations of the International student body which make up the campus.

Not only are these qualifications designed to meet student expectations, they are also designed to meet the demands of the exciting and dynamic Hotel Management Industry. Additionally, these qualifications are accredited at the highest level with the appropriate accrediting bodies.

Graduates receive Swiss, Australian and British qualifications subject to the courses studied. With Europe now being joined in Union, the British and Swiss qualifications are very necessary and extremely highly regarded.

There is economic benefit in studying in Australia rather than the UK or Europe. The Australian dollar is more affordable than its ‘EURO’ counterpart.

Combining the economic benefits with the obvious attractions of AUSTRALIA makes it a great place to live, learn and earn.

Imagine yourself living in Leura, one of the prettiest villages in one of the most popular tourist regions of New South Wales, the Blue Mountains National Park.

What makes the area special is that, even though it is spread over 240,000 hectares and includes a world heritage-listed national wilderness park, the Blue Mountains is virtually on the doorstep of Sydney. You are a fast 1 ½ hours from Australia’s most exciting city, and, on a clear day, it is possible to see its skyline.

Fine food, good wine and art combined with the beauty of the National Park are but a few of the major attractions which this semi-rural city offers students from throughout Australia and all over the world.

As Leura lies in the heart of this thriving tourism area, students seeking part time work have opportunities to find employment in the many hotels, guest houses and restaurants nearby. This experience will be a great advantage in gaining one of those exciting competitive positions during the Sydney Year 2000 Olympic Games. To date there are over 680 graduates currently working in exciting, interesting, well paid positions in the major 4 and 5 star hotels throughout the world.

Surrounded by gardens in a region that is well known for its beautiful public and private gardens, the BMIHMS campus offers its own range of recreational facilities: heated swimming pool, tennis court, gymnasium, sauna, recreation room with pool table, coffee shop, student dining room, beach volley ball court. The Leura golf course is just across the road.

Australia’s first residential hospitality school was opened in 1991. Students live in comfortable shared accommodation. Rooms have windows looking out to the gardens and all have en-suite bathrooms. Each is equipped with a telephone and a computer linked to Email and the Internet.

The School is quite self-contained with its own library and computer room where students can study and work. All students share several things in common, among them the pursuit of a career in hospitality or tourism, and the fact that they are all living away from home. Aware of these facts, staff are available to assist students after hours if required. The School also has a full-time counselor on staff and an International Students Association.

Students operate the School as a Hotel throughout their course, where they are both employees and guests, acquiring experience in Front Office, Reception and Room Service. From day one they are rostered on a range of duties that include cooking and waiting in Covers, one of the student run restaurants. All wear attractive uniforms and name badges, as they would in a quality hotel, and with a diverse range of nationalities represented, the campus has a very cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Courses

The BMIHMS is a member of the Leading Hotel Management Schools of the World with affiliated schools located in Switzerland, Greece and New Zealand. (Courses are presented in association with the International Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, Neuchatel, Switzerland. (IHTTI))

Based on the Swiss ‘three pillars of learning’ model, practical skills, theoretical knowledge and personal development, the curriculum is designed to provide students with a thorough knowledge of all aspects of hotel management.

Management skills, leadership, practical knowledge, a high degree of self discipline and a positive attitude are the underlying principles of the School philosophy.

Advanced Diploma course

This is a two and a half year course. Students graduate with a BMIHMS Advanced Diploma in Hotel Management as well as a Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management from the IHTTI.

Subjects studied include financial management, marketing and tourism, behavioral science, food and beverage systems, rooms division management and professional development.

As part of the course, all students ‘earn and learn’, undertaking two periods of six months each in an industry placements, working at leading hotels and resorts throughout Australia as well as overseas, gaining experience, making contacts and earning wages.

The course is open to anyone 18 years or over; mature age students welcome. Overseas students with English as a second language must attain a knowledge of the language to an IELTS equivalent level of 6.0 or TOEFL of 550. Arrangements can be made for entry into selected language courses prior to enrolment at the BMIHMS.

Degree Extension

The BMIHMS also has articulation agreements with reputable universities both within Australia and internationally, such as the University of Bournemouth, UK, whereby students can graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management. These degree extensions range from six months further study on campus to approximately one year studied externally.

Post graduate courses:

Graduate Diploma in Hotel Management

Open to students with a degree in any discipline, this 18-month course provides the educational path for individuals to upgrade their qualifications and aims to advance skills, knowledge and professional attitudes to enable graduates to proceed to higher levels in hotel management.

Students are required to live in on campus during the first semester, studying operational skills in food and beverage, front office management and housekeeping. This is followed by paid placement in a recognised hotel in Australia or overseas, during which time students commence two of the System Units by distance learning.

Students have access to a comprehensive learning package of texts and computer discs and have on-going support from lecturers.

The BMIHMS has two student intakes each year - February and July.

Careers in Hospitality and Tourism Management

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (1997), the economics of the 21^st century will be dominated by three industries: telecommunications, information technology and tourism. The travel and tourism industries have grown by 500% in the last 25 years and it is estimated that by the year 2007 tourists will spend US$884 billion in foreign countries on tourism related activities.

Travel and tourism represents a broad range of related industries. The growth of these industries has opened up many new job opportunities for graduates in areas such as:

• hotels
• restaurants
• retailing
• transportation
• travel agencies
• tour companies
• tourist attractions
• leisure, recreation and sport
• cultural industries

It is interesting to realise that in 1997 travel and tourism provides 10.5% of the total world employment, with up to 25% of all employment, in some areas, such as the Caribbean. It has been estimated that, by 2007, more than 100 million people world-wide will be employed in this sector. Because of this, tourism is now seen to be of importance to most countries of the world.

During this time, the nature of tourism has developed in scope and direction, away from traditional activities, such as the sunshine sand and sea holidays to a wide range of new activities such as cultural tourism, adventure tourism, sports and leisure activities and eco-tourism.

Given the potential for interesting and rewarding careers in these industries many young people are looking for suitable courses which will help prepare them for careers in management within the tourism and hospitality industries. The UK higher education system has a well developed range of courses, at all levels from Higher National Diploma, BA or BSc degrees and MA/MSc/MBA Masters courses and using alternative methods of studying, (including full-time, part-time and distance learning). When looking at courses in hospitality and tourism, there can seem to be a bewildering variety of course titles covering the main employment areas of travel, tourism, hotels and restaurants. Typical titles include:

For hotels and restaurant management:

• hospitality management
• international hospitality management
• hotel and catering management

For travel and tourism:

• tourism management
• tourism studies
• travel and tourism

There are also joint degrees where it is possible to study combinations of subjects, such as tourism and hospitality, tourism and leisure, hospitality and marketing. Most undergraduate courses (HND/BSc/BA) will include a period of work experience as part of the course, varying in length from 6 months to one year. This work experience is seen to be a central part of the course, where the student gets the opportunity to practise what they have learned in college or university. Employers also see great value in this work experience when considering the employment of graduates.

Given the international nature of these industries, another valuable part of any course is the study of languages. Most courses in hospitality and tourism provide access to language courses, either as core components or as options.

Courses at Masters level are becoming increasingly important in tourism and hospitality. These Masters level courses are useful to two groups of people:

- those who have completed a degree course in a subject other than hospitality or tourism but who are looking at ways of getting employment in the industry;

- those who have a degree or sub-degree qualification in hospitality or tourism together with significant management experience within the hospitality or tourism industries and who wish to develop themselves to a higher level or to seek a more senior position in industry. There are many Masters courses in Hospitality Management, Hotel and Catering Management and Tourism Management in universities and colleges in the UK.

In addition to the above courses, there are also more specialised Masters courses in Tourism covering areas such as Cultural Tourism, Tourism Marketing, Tourism Planning, Museum Management, Heritage Management, Cultural Tourism and Sustainable Tourism: these are suitable for people who have an interest in employment in a specific sector of the industry.

Within the UK there are many university and college courses to choose from, but each course will have its own unique characteristics. Before applying, you should think carefully about the type of career you want: if it is in a hotel are you interested in restaurant management or rooms division management? Do you see yourself as a practical hands-on person or someone who is happier to work behind the scenes in a desk based job? Do you aspire to become a general manager of a hotel which is part of one of the major world-wide groups, or do you want to manage your own operation? Are you more interested in one of the functional management areas, such as marketing, human resources, conferences. If you are interested in tourism do you want to work for a travel agency, a tour company, the management of a tourist attraction, or within the public sector-national, regional or local tourism planning organisations. Think about these types of question before consulting the prospectuses or WEB sites so that you can judge each course against your own preferences.

Higher Education in the UK Hospitality Industry

Airports to aeroplanes, luxury cruise liners to riverboat restaurants, universities to schools, railway stations to express trains, takeaways to top restaurants, city centre hotels to bed and breakfast. Wherever we are, whether in a department store, leisure centre or pub, or simply strolling in the park, there is normally a hospitality enterprise providing for our accommodation and dining needs.

Indeed, there are hundreds of thousands of them in the UK alone, with a combined turnover of around 10% of the country’s total consumer expenditure. This is very serious money; over £50 billion pounds!

The hospitality industry (loosely defined as hotels and a myriad of leisure and catering operations of different kinds) accounting for 70% of employment in the wider tourism industry offers unparalleled opportunities for truly international management careers.

These excellent job prospects are reflected in the demand for graduates. For example, the Colchester Institute, like many of the UK’s other established providers in hospitality management education, consistently achieve one hundred percent graduate employment.

What interests many prospective students is the extraordinary range of management jobs available. For example, in addition to operational management, graduates can pursue careers in such areas as personnel, marketing, sales, finance, training, facilities management, conference management and purchasing. Also, career progression is often rapid, with companies offering very good financial and development packages in recognition that there is a major shortage of well qualified management graduates for what is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries.

Clearly, the hospitality industry offers excellent opportunities for ambitious graduates. In addition to management positions, self-employment is also a real possibility for experienced managers.

What has been stated thus far is justifiably upbeat, but it is also necessary to sound a note of caution. In order to succeed in this industry, it is useful to possess good interpersonal skills, and advancement will often fall to those that take on extra responsibility, and work under pressure. Also, in some sectors managers need to cope with working unsocial hours. Therefore, as with any other vocation, it is necessary to consider carefully the pluses and the minuses. Although, the extraordinary variety of opportunity means that most managers find they are in fact rather spoilt for choice.

Tips on Choosing a Course

There are a large number of centres offering Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) and degrees in hospitality management. Prospective students should try to get an idea from the college or university as to the number of years it has been running hospitality higher education programmes. For example, established centres, because of their long experience in the field, offer excellent resources and learning opportunities.

Industrial Placements.

Many employers are attracted to graduates that have gained work experience whilst on their course. Established colleges and universities will normally arrange these placements for the students, but the level of support varies, and it is worth asking some searching questions about this before choosing your place of study. The range of placements is also an important consideration.

For example, some centres, such as the Colchester Institute, provide a complete package where students can choose from a range of establishments throughout the USA, continental Europe and the UK. This particular package includes finding a mutually acceptable placement, arranging accommodation and negotiating the salary. All the students have to do is turn up for work! It is important, therefore, that you establish whether the centre offers such high levels of support, which should also include a visit by a lecturer, or industrial placement tutor. Whether they are in New York State or Scotland, our own students benefit equally from these visits, which, whilst being primarily for educational purposes, also help to reduce the occasional and inevitable problems a student may experience when working away from home for the first time.

Choice of Programme

Those wishing to study full-time choose between an HND or a degree. HND programmes are often two or three years in duration, and an honours degree will take up to four years to complete. The HND will usually have a six month work experience placement, and of the four year degree course, one year will be spent at work.

It is important to establish with the centre that one can progress easily from the HND to the degree. For example, some of our students prefer to do an HND (two years) and then ‘top-up’ to a degree (a further one or two years). Another thing to look into is the range of degree titles on offer.

Programmes are often developed to allow students to choose a particular specialism to study in addition to the hospitality core. Specialism pathways include such areas as: Leisure, Conference Management, Marketing, Facilities Management, Business Studies, Tourism and Human Resource Management. The strength of this system allows graduates not only to gain specialist knowledge of a particular branch of management, but also to be able to convey this expertise clearly to prospective employers.

If deciding on a career in hospitality management, you can be assured of an interesting career with excellent opportunities for advancement, and for those that want it, the ability to have a truly international career. More and more, however, employers are seeking well qualified people to fill their management positions. It is necessary, therefore, to choose a higher education course that, reflects the particular branches of the industry that you wish to follow.

Hospitality Tourism Education - A Canadian Perspective

Canada has made hospitality and tourism an art, and many of the country’s educational institutions specialize in preparing people for careers in this dynamic sector. It’s easy to understand why. Tourism has always played an important role in Canada’s economy, as for centuries people have enjoyed visiting this vast, beautiful country. Now every year millions of people visit hotels, restaurants, resorts and clubs across Canada - injecting millions of dollars into a sector that supports thousands of businesses and jobs.

Canada’s colleges and universities have in turn responded to the growing need for highly qualified staff with a wide variety of programs from basic hospitality training to the postgraduate management degrees. Because of its national importance, hospitality and tourism training in Canada achieves high, international standards. Training often combines both European and international traditions of quality and service coupled with models of North American efficiency and use of advanced technology.

Hospitality and Tourism encompasses numerous sub sectors including accommodation and lodging, food and beverage service, tourism, travel and transportation, and event management.

The extensive variety of programs in Canada mirrors the endless possibilities associated with a career in the hospitality and tourism industry. From short programs which can vary in length from ten to forty weeks, to the apprenticeship model, to one-year, two-year or three-year college vocational models, to four-year undergraduate, post-diploma and graduate degrees, the educational opportunities are limitless.

The wide range of programs ensures prospective students have a variety of career options. Hospitality and Tourism education in Canada can be accomplished through public and private institutions. The Canadian colleges offer a strong practical focus to prepare students for front-line positions in the industry. In addition industry-based partnerships result in extensive apprenticeship programs in cooking and baking. Specific colleges also cater to specific niche markets such as festival and event management and culinary specialties including Aboriginal, Chinese, Italian, Patissier, and Sommelier programs.

An easy path to obtaining a university degree, known as two plus two’s, combines hands-on skills acquired in a college program with university courses to make a highly employable individual. University undergraduate degree programs include either a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Business Administration, or a Bachelor of Applied Sciences. Graduate programs are in areas of administration and management.

Potential students should invest time, energy and resources to carefully research the program that best suits their needs. A careful review of curriculum is only one aspect of choosing the best hospitality program. Other factors to consider include institutional reputation, student awards, faculty publications and involvement in the industry, and graduate employment. Location and size are big factors as well. Metropolitan locations offer students the opportunity to benefit from the country’s rich and extensive multicultural communities and offer high quality work experience. Suburban and rural locations give students the benefits of a natural setting.

Students should also carefully consider facilities and resources available. The industry is ever-changing and the currency of the faculty should be reflected in its labs, theaters, computer technology and library. Furthermore, support services such as peer-tutoring programs, faculty mentoring, student advisory, housing and residency and financial aid are indicative of an institution’s service to a student.