Repositioning Hospitality Curriculum

Repositioning Hospitality Curriculum

In academics, the curriculum followed needs to be determinedly revisited, reorganized and revised by not only the academicians but also the professionals from the industries that are all connected to the domain in one way or the other.

The hospitality industry too has set foot on the revival path post the turbulence of the last few years. In the same twilight, the curriculum in hospitality institutions needs to be reassessed to cater to changing needs of the customers and the professionalism needed to cater to the novel demands. It is not just the Gen X/Z but also the Gen EX comprising of senior people who have started travelling freely, frequently with the sole purpose of exploring the world around them, thereby creating a need for a novel set of hospitality skills in the workforce that interacts with them.

The hospitality business has always highlighted the preference for personalized services, skill orientation, sound communication and smarter personas but with changing times the focus has to be diverted to understanding the client's needs much before a skill set is developed. A proactive approach to going that extra mile would be inculcated only with addition of behavioral and psychological skills to the curriculum alongside technical expertise. The teaching methodology has to convert to being highly interactive and task based instead of just the lecture or regular practical based teaching.

The hospitality curriculum should be generalized for the initial duration of an educational program and gradually progress into specializing domains with the focus of develop decision-making abilities in the students to be able to find out their niche within these specialized domains. E.g. a student may choose to get into Food & Beverage Services but if one is equipped to look deep into this segment and identify target segments like beverages, food, service skills, bartending, food and wine pairing etc.; it would definitely assist the student to come out with key specialization within a larger domain. Someone picking up a career in beverages needs to understand whether to go for wines, wine tasting, spirits, flavouring of wines and spirits or to get onto learning the barista skills in coffee business.

Hiring Fresh Hospitality Graduates 

The hospitality graduates of the day come out with the highest expectations which at times do not match with the respective capabilities and skills that they acquire during their academic journeys at the institutions.

They have to understand the fact that the truly deserving candidates have pleasing not attractive personalities, competitive technical knowhow, soft skills, social skills, and an apt understanding of financial figures although they are at the very first stage of their career are definitely appreciated and get the perks they ask for.  

The newcomers in the hospitality industry have to realize that communication skills are not just effective in the regional and English language but an extra language proficiency has fast become the norm. An overseas placement mandatorily needs one to be proficient in an international language other than English. The workplace has become cross–cultural and so has the client base thus good teamwork can be achieved only when we have multilingual teammates who respect each other.

EQ is essential for a fruitful career in hospitality and allied spheres as it ensures that as an individual the person on the job takes sound decisions, does not get frazzled in pressing circumstances, and empathizes not only with others but also with self. Emotions need to be under good self-control so that one does not reach conclusions in haste.

Advise to the Young Hoteliers

The hospitality industry is ever-changing and always challenging your professional and interpersonal skills. It presents a new situation every day with a new set of people walking in as guests; with varied demands, versatile profiles, diverse age groups and scintillating tastes when it comes to defining luxury. These should be taken up as new learning opportunities not as burnout situations and then the resulting impact would bring positivity to individual thought processes.

Success may not always be defined by parameters like packages, designations, the brands of handphones or the wristwatch one carries. As young hoteliers, it is to be understood that the accomplishment is being an excellent team player, being a person who always remains humble, being an individual who is always respectful to diversity in cultures, appreciates inclusion and has the ability to adapt at a fast pace.

A healthy lifestyle which has inputs of regular exercise every day, a balance of sleep and work cycles, doing a small social contribution daily, an appreciation for music, movies, and cultural fests, and being thankful to one’s elders and accepting people as they are without prejudice would take the youngsters and professionals a long way in respective careers.

About the author:

Vimal Kumar an alumnus of IHM Lucknow is currently pursuing Doctorate in Hotel Managemen.