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Stakeholders in the tourism sector have expressed the need for a shift in how training institutions equip the next generation of hospitality professionals.
They say colleges and universities are still offering an irrelevant curriculum that is stuck in outdated text books.

Dr Judy Kepha-Gona Founder and Lead consultant of Sustainable Travel and Tourism Agenda (STTA) says that there is need for service providers to be grounded in all current affairs and not just travel and tourism.

A hotel room keeper, should be able to answer a question on where the linen comes from should a guest ask, especially now that travellers have become more environment concious,” she says.

“Guest relations should go beyond the guests, to international relations. What will you say when the guests asks you about the Glasgow declaration on climate action in tourism? There is continuous learning that must go on. Some of the hotel managers who were trained in the 80s are still stuck in the old ways of doing things,” she adds.

Direct incentives

nother area which hospitality and tourism employers have long lamented about is the disconnection between the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Universities.

“It is interesting to note that very few establishments liaise with TVETs to supply them with labour. This is even with the full knowledge that the TVETs are offering hospitality and tourism courses. They have used terminologies, such as half-baked students and decry having to use more time and resources retraining them,” explains Dr Billy Wadongo Head of Research, Innovation and Business, Boma International Hospitality College.

Billy notes that the lack of direct incentives on the part of TVETs to place students into jobs has made most skilling institutions not go to lengths to discover what the industry needs, so that they can respond to those specific needs.

For instance, some skillsets, such as those needed by mixologists, barristers, hotel animators, hospitality landscapers, lifeguards, swimming pool attendants, among othersy have not captured the attention of TVETs.

“There is a lack of curriculum to formally train for those roles. Hotel managers have struggled to get qualified barmen, mixologists and pastry chefs, among others directly from TVETs, yet there are courses on general food and beverage production and service.

The industry’s specific need is to get a specialised person who can fit into employment without further training. The result of this disconnect is that graduates will not have jobs, and employers will resort to in-house training, lowering standards and diluting the profession,” he continues.

Sustainable tourism

Some universities have begun to shift their training to the changing demands of the industry particularly when it comes to incorporating sustainable tourism.

“We are also witnessing a lot of technology boom and innovations and some universities are now creating localised training facilities for courses, such as wildlife conservancy. There are some universities that have begun rehabilitating forests as well and focusing on a collaborative research agenda on waste management,” explains Prof Ray Mutinda, Managing Director Transnational Manpower Services Limited.

Some training institutions are also taking students through sustainable kitchen gardens training at the institutions to give them practical skills on how organic crops are grown. Others, such as the Boma International Hospitality College have introduced courses on sustainable tourism, such as climate change, environmental and biodiversity degradation and unsustainable waste management.

“The unemployment among educated youth has resulted in the urgent need for hospitality and tourism training institutions to reengineer their initiatives in order to promote the green economy agenda. These, combined with digital disruptions, green innovations across all sectors, population growth dynamics, and the need for improved resource efficiency are undoubtedly reconfiguring the existing environmental ecosystems, which affect education and training sectors,” explains Billy.

He further adds that there is need to recognise the New Qualifications and Competencies (NQC) that are emerging from dual transition in greening and digitalisation practices.

“TVETs need to identify these practices, integrate and implement them in their curriculum, as well as offer distinct qualifications needed by the industry. It is important to document the existing green transition initiatives in TVETs and universities and the industry,” notes Billy.

However, even as different universities are coming up with solutions another challenge is looming. “There is need on standardisation in matters sustainable tourism education in Kenya. We have different universities offering their different curricula, which are offering the same degree.

What we need now is global accreditation to standardise approach and learning outcomes so that we have greater impact,” Dr Shem Wambugu Maingi, a lecturer and researcher in tourism management at Kenyatta University.

Student centred learning

Shem adds that there is need to mainstream sustainability in tourism education in Kenya, especially on matters energy efficiency, water management, waste management, reducing carbon emissions, community development and also sustainability planning and management training.

Dr Wambugu says the technology space has updated a lot of the student’s view of education and more updated approaches towards student centred learning and research have been designed.

“It’s not chalk and talk anymore. However, what we need is to transform training towards innovations and solutions for the sector. This way, students are challenged to ideate, think, research, and develop innovations in the sector,” he observes.

“TVETs have to deliberately increase their efforts to not only place students through internships, but also actively support students to gain employment after graduation. More importantly, they have to ensure graduates possess skills that will enable them fit in the job market,” he adds in ending.