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The tourism and hospitality industry is essentially one of the sunshine sectors of world economy. With the improvements witnessed in world economy, tourism and hospitality industry has registered exponential growth. This industry is always in need of quality professionals to cater to the surge in traffic. Worldwide, companies and organizations require experienced hospitality professionals who can become a part of this hugely appealing industry. Hospitality industry cannot survive without highly qualified applicants. That opens door to youngsters who are willing to carve out a niche career for themselves. To sustain future growth and productivity of this industry, quality professionals will be required in every vertical of hospitality sector.
There is no dearth of hospitality courses. One can join courses catering to different verticals of the industry like, housekeeping, food production, bakery and confectionary, food and beverage services, accommodation operation and management, hotel management, front office, catering management, dietetics and hospital food services etc.
The one major problem faced by hospitality industry is high employee turnover rate. It is difficult for any industry to hire new employees and incur the cost of training. Because of the competitive nature of the industry, employers are hard pressed to retain quality professionals. That fact really explains the potentials for students of hospitality management. Most of the hospitality courses provide practical knowledge along with theoretical components.
A prospective hospitality student should first decide which type of degree he or she wants. It could be associate’s and bachelor's degrees in hospitality management. Students need to consider all the relevant factors like colleges, cost, location, and the quality of the program. They should also check the placement record and internship programs offered by the college. After going through the basic subjects in the course, students will be required to choose specialization. They can opt from food service, hotel management and strategy, marketing, and business management etc.
Most of the quality hospitality courses have internship programs which offer students a chance to work in the actual field that they hope to have a career in. after successful completion of the course, students can participate in placement programs offered by the college. They can also look out for vacancies in local newspapers and magazines apart from ubiquitous internet. Qualified professionals are most likely to get a good job offer because of increasing demand for hospitality students. The industry is expected to grow by 20 percent in major parts of the world and that augurs well for hospitality management students.
In India, the governing body for hospitality and hotel administration courses is the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
As far as jobs for professionals in this field is concerned, one can work as Management Trainee, flight kitchens, customer relations executive, hotel chefs, sales executive, housekeepers, catering officer, hotel managers etc. Furthermore, there is always requirement for hospitality professionals in airlines, resorts, wellness centers, spa and Tourism Development Corporations. Professionals can also start their own business after getting some experience.
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