A hospitality degree can open the door to careers around the globe

06 May 2019

If you’re looking to further your studies in an industry that’s growing and thriving, hospitality could be the answer.

The travel and tourism industry is robust. In the US, a Deloitte report – 2019 US Travel and Hospitality Outlook – notes that the US travel industry has experienced a burst in travel demand – the industry experienced almost 10 consecutive years of growth. Many segments of the sector, including hotels, airlines, cruises, transportation and restaurants, are reaping the benefits of this growth.

The travel and tourism sector is also a formidable contributor to the world economy – a Forbes report said the travel and tourism sector added a record US$8.8 trillion to the world’s combined GDP, up from US$8.3 trillion in 2017 – in addition to creating 319 million new jobs.

Meanwhile, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said travel and tourism generated 10.4 percent of the world’s total economic activity in 2018, and that worldwide growth was aided by the rapid growth of travel and tourism in these regions: Oceania (Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific islands), Southeast Asia, India and China.

Source: The University of Nevada Las Vegas

Unprecedented growth aside, the industry also presents prospective hospitality students with great employability prospects. The WTTC said in its Travel & Tourism: Generating Jobs for Youth report that based on the 10 countries examined, the travel and tourism sector employs a higher share of youth workers (15-24) than the overall economy of the region, in addition to employing more young people than any other economic sector.

Canada is a leader in travel and tourism’s youth employment, followed by the US and UK.

Hospitality students develop a broad range of transferable skills in communication, problem-solving, dispute resolution and working under pressure, all of which are useful to a range of industries.

Careers in hospitality cover an extensive range of fields – you’ll not only be able to find work opportunities just about anywhere in the world but also the following areas: training, sales, events, food and services. A degree in hospitality can also lead to careers that suit various personalities, including introverts who prefer to work in the back-end and deal with fewer people, to full-blown extroverts who get a high from front-end work and enjoy handling people.

If your interest is piqued, here are four institutions worth considering for a hospitality degree:

LES ROCHES JIN JIANG INTERNATIONAL HOTEL MANAGEMENT COLLEGE – CHINA

Studying hospitality at Les Roches Jin Jiang in Shanghai will prove to be an invaluable experience, as students benefit from a Swiss hospitality education while immersing themselves in Asian culture.

Source: Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel Management College

Swiss hospitality education is internationally renowned – its hands-on nature means students learn to meet and exceed guest expectations through a high level of service. Students acquire these skills through practical modules in the purpose-built labs within the institution, but also in hospitality businesses. These include traditional hospitality fields such as hotel management, rooms division or F&B, and non-traditional fields such as events management, revenue management and luxury hospitality.

Les Roches Jin Jiang which offers undergraduate and postgraduate diploma programs in International Hotel Management to a multicultural community of students. The programme is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Inc, the accrediting association in the US which evaluates universities such as Harvard, Yale and MIT. The institution is also among the world’s best schools for hospitality and is ranked third in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019: Hospitality & Leisure Management.

Unsurprisingly, graduates are in high demand – ranks second in the QS world university for employer reputation among hospitality institutes worldwide, with 100 company visits taking place across their network annually, while industry internship is firmly built into the curriculum.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS (UNLV) – US

This institution’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality grants students one of the world’s best programmes in preparation for the global hospitality and leisure services profession. The school is among the world’s top-rated hospitality management programmes and boasts an ultra-modern learning facility just blocks away from the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Source: The University of Nevada Las Vegas

UNLV staunchly believes in the power of industry partnerships to ensure student success. Every year, the college organises almost 600 internships and welcomes over 100 national hospitality brands for recruitment events, and pairs an average of 175 industry mentors with students. These serve as an important platform to build relationships that help build careers.

Prospective UNLV students can choose from a variety of undergraduate programmes, including a BS in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Restaurant Management or Meetings and Events, among others; and graduate programmes, such as a Doctor of Philosophy – Hospitality Administration.

The school also offers online programmes for busy working professionals who would like to further their studies in hospitality, such as the Executive Master of Hospitality Administration(MHA).

VATEL SINGAPORE – SINGAPORE

Vatel Singapore is part of the Vatel Group. Its campuses throughout the world have won the Best Hospitality Management School award in the 17^th Worldwide Hospitality Awards, competing against 42 prestigious international schools.

Source: Vatel Singapore

This institution is centrally located in Singapore and boasts modern classrooms, state-of-the-art hospitality training laboratories and consultation rooms to ensure students have the right training grounds to fuel their future success.

Prospective students can pursue a Bachelor in International Hotel Management, a three-year programme that intertwines theory/practice with internships for a well-rounded education. During this period, students will acquire professional, legal, economic and fundamental linguistic knowledge for their field, in addition to learning managerial techniques and team-leading skills.

Meanwhile, graduates can also consider pursuing the MBA in International Hotel Management, a minimum of a two-year programme that combines theory/practice and finishes with a highly strategic internship, which often turns into their first job. What’s unique about the MBA programme at Vatel is that students can choose from 10 specialisations, such as Finance & Project Development, among others.

Many graduates have gone on to enjoy rewarding and fruitful careers.

THE HOTEL SCHOOL SYDNEY – AUSTRALIA

Fancy studying hospitality in the Land Down Under? The Hotel School delivers Southern Cross University courses and is the only Australian hotel school formed through a unique partnership between a public university and a global hotel investment group.

Source: The Hotel School, Sydney

This leading hotel school in Australia offers prospective undergraduate students a chance to study the Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management, a three-year programme and the ideal starting point for any student looking to carve a career in hospitality-related businesses, focusing on management.

Students will learn what it takes to operate a hotel and provide hospitality to the satisfaction of guests, as well as managing administration and leading staff, all of which demands attention to detail and great people skills. But learning doesn’t stop in the classroom as the institution also offers students professional work experience through the internship programme, designed to assist in working out which career pathway is suited for students. Learners can undergo their internships within Australia or internationally.

Other programmes available include the Master of International Tourism and Hotel Management, and the Graduate Diploma in International Tourism and Hotel Management, among others.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International