Skill Development and Hospitality Industry

By Mr Arun Kumar Singh, Director, FHRAI-IHM

Know why it is important to learn the skills in Hospitality for a bright career in this sector from the Director of FHRAI-IHM, Mr Arun Kumar Singh. Skill development is the backbone of success in the Hospitality Industry.

The hospitality industry is a people’s service sector that comprises social beings catering to the needs and emotions of others to run a successful enterprise. It’s a business of helping people to feel welcomed, relaxed and fulfilled the purpose of their visit. A lot of effort and skill is required to make customers or guests feel contented with the services they are availing. Hence hospitality is often mentioned as a deliberate, planned and sustained effort to main a mutual understanding between the organization and the public so as to keep up with market requirements. When we talk about planned and sustainable effort Skill Development becomes an area of importance, as this industry is a place where many skills coexist under an umbrella to run it successfully. Despite its low status, it is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy and faces real challenges in matching its skills requirements to the changing labour market globally. It is believed that there are around 10% of the global workforce involved in the tourism and hospitality-related industry, thus, this is an important sector that cannot be overlooked. Hence Skill Development has turned out to be a concern and area of improvement with every entity joined as a hospitality service provider.

In the Hospitality industry, educational institutions play a major role in skill development as they help in building the foundation of both technical and behavioural aspects required to shape an individual into a professional. The Skill GAP in hospitality is filled up by Formal Education offered by Institutes affiliated to National Council of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT) (An Autonomous body under the Ministry of Tourism), Universities and Private institutes where students are offered Bachelor Degree, Master Degree or Diploma in major operational areas like Food Production, Bakery & Confectionery, Food & Beverage Service, and Accommodation Operation. Institutes under Central IHMs, State IHMs, Food Craft Institutes (FCI), Private Hospitality Management Institutes, State Tourism Corporation, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) offer such courses designed to bridge the gap between skill and service in the service industry.

Academic Hospitality education programs are designed to teach the basic skills that will prepare students to work effectively in their workplace as well as provide prompt services. During their academic curriculum at the institutions, students are trained on the operational skills which are the demand of the designation, as well as on interpersonal skills that help them to build strong professional relationships for smooth functioning. These skills enable the personnel to manage the demands in today’s hospitality industry, addressing increased competition, changing consumer attitudes and employer expectations. But in Hospitality, it is important to excel in providing service so as to retain our clients. Hence it is important to reskill or upgrade the skills from time to time so that the professional is at its best.

All the students who are training for a career in the hospitality sector and the working professionals need to reiterate their basic operational hard skills and soft skills for effective service. Skill in all operational areas is mastered through continuous practice and experience. Learning and

Development (L&D) or Training Department has taken up a major role in supporting the reskilling and upskilling of employees by constant monitoring and evaluation of output. They facilitate the individuals with their area of development along with operational heads and guide them to achieve it as well.

Many skill development programs are also helping to boost skills in young hospitality aspirants, like the Hunar Se Rozgar Program which is being conducted by academic institutions and hotels so as to train individuals as per their skills as Multi Cuisine Cook, F&B Steward, Room Attendant, Home Delivery Boy, Laundry Operator and Tour Guides. A lot of organizations are conducting Re-skilling programs for Taxi Drivers, Bus Drivers, Dhaba Employees, Shopkeepers, Pandits & Purohits, Stall Vendors, on basic communication in Foreign Language, so as to communicate effectively with tourists.

The current workforce in Hospitality Industry is so task driven that they do not give due importance to the level of skill required to give a quality product. The Manpower outrage and cost-effectiveness for the company to manage its resources have led down to the deuteriation of skill levels in individuals. For example, once dining in a busy restaurant recently, the server was not able to pour a glass of water efficiently, and while interacting we found out he hasn’t been given enough skill training to do the task properly. During such a situation the person is underconfident in doing his job and in turn ruins the experience of the guest. It clearly states that a small task like serving a glass of water requires a certain amount of skill that an individual needs to have so as to get the job done effectively. Hence some hospitality companies and educational institutes focus on task training on regular basis, which helps them to main the quality of service and learning respectively. It is also the prime responsibility of hospitality education to train the students as per the demands of the industry and alien the curriculum as per the current trends. This would help the freshers to adapt to the operation quickly by using the right skill required for service.

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Being a hospitality trainer for a decade, some observations show that employees undergoing a continuous process of skill development, work more efficiently, as their deliverables are always quality product and are self-motivated to keep working even in tough situations. A continuous process of skill development increases the knowledge of the professional, so does his effectiveness on the shough floor helping him or her to climb up the stairs of leadership in gradual times. Hence hospitality companies investing in continuous skill development of employees not only make a profit for themselves but also give their employees a better career progression earning their loyalty.

Skill development is the backbone of success in the Hospitality Industry is also being promoted by the Government through National Skill Development Council (NSDC). NSDC under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship is organizing different platforms and extending support for individuals to showcase and nurture their skills for perfection. Skill councils like Food Industry Capacity & Skill Initiative (FICSI) and Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) are working relentlessly under NSDC to bridge the gap between skill development, hospitality education and operations. Entrepreneurship has also been booming as a blessing of skill development in individuals as they have their own start-ups as Baker, Barman, Cloud Kitchen Cooks, which help them to cater to a bigger radius of clients with support from delivery partners. The more we focus on skill development, the Hospitality sector will be flourishing and attain higher peaks.

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