Skills of Tourism graduates Essay Example for Free

Skills of Tourism graduates Essay The primary objective of this study is to determine the employability skills of Tourism graduates from the year 2005 to 2009 of University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Molino such as Communication Skills, Human Relation Skills, Technical Skills, Management Skills, Research Skills and Leadership Skills. The study is anchored in the theory of Gazier as cited by Weinert who stated that employability is supply and demand. The Descriptive research design was utilized to analyze and delineate the current work abilities of the BST graduates. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to determine if significant difference exist in the employability skills of Tourism graduates in relation to their year of graduation. The study revealed that there were significant differences in the employability skills of the Tourism graduates when they are grouped according to year graduated. The differences among the batches can be accounted from the variable factors and circumstances during the period of their study. Hence, from the results, the institution can improve the quality of teaching by bringing students outside the classroom setting, hiring faculty who are equipped with background and experience in the tourism industry and related jobs, and the University should extend utmost effort to provide facilities of the tourism college Introduction The University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) – Molino Campus, College of International and Hospitality Management is committed to providing quality education by offering a wide range of theoretical, practical knowledge and skills through various aspects of hospitality management which is necessary to every student in becoming competent individuals of society. The college offers study programs such as Bachelor of Science major in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BSHRM), Associate in Hotel and Restaurant Management (ASHRM) and Bachelor of Science in Tourism (BST). The Bachelor of Science in Tourism is a discipline that provides a wide array of experiences that leads to the understanding of history, customs, traditions, values and culture of different places both here and abroad. Further, the BS Tourism program includes a course on Tour guiding, Foreign language, Tourist destination marketing, Thesis writing, Tourism Planning and Development, Personal Development and Public Relation, Cruise management, Travel Agency Management and Operation, Principles of Tourism with Tourism Laws, Philippine Tourism: Geography and Culture, World Tourism: Geography and Culture, Principles of Management, Front Office Management, and Convention and Recreation Management. These are the courses being taught to the students to gain the employability skills of tou rism such as the Communication skill, Human relation skill, Tour guiding skill, Management Skill, Research Skill and Leadership skill. Student capabilities as used in this study refer to abilities learned in the four corners of the classroom preparing graduates for employment as they step out of the portals of their alma mater. Such skills result in better employability of graduates. According to Hind and Moss (2011), employability is a person’s capability to gain and maintain employment. Further, it depends on the knowledge, skills and abilities possessed by the latter. Employability of graduates therefore depends on the trainings they attended from first year to their graduation. According to Walker (2006), tourism as career is a dynamic, evolving and consumer – driven force it is also the world’s largest industry or collection of industries. When all its interrelated components are placed under one umbrella: tourism, travel, lodging, conventions, expositions, meetings, events; restaurants, managed services: assembly, destination and event management, and recreation. Walker also said that tourism plays a foundational role in framing the various services that hospitality companies perform. In the past five years, the UPHSD – Molino has produced number of graduates that have eventually joined tourism industry works in the tourism industry. Their work is crucial in creating appreciation of the beauty of the world; therefore, these graduates need certain skills and knowledge in order to be considered assets to tourism establishments and maintain employability. The study provides documentary analysis about the employability skills of Bachelor of Science in Tourism graduates batch 2005 – 2009 of UPHSD- Molino Campus to meet the demands of the industry of the new century. Further, responses from graduates concerning various issues related to teaching and learning were also considered. Such information is essential to assist the University in planning and determining factors linked to student learning, curriculum design, and improvement of services provided by UPHSD. Therefore the researchers opted to conduct a study about the employability skills of Bachelor of Science in Tourism graduates batch 2005 – 2009 of UPHSD- Molino Campus. Specifically it aims to determine the capabilities, knowledge, and skills possessed by graduates in finding and maintaining work. The study is anchored in the theory of Gazier as cited by Weinert (2001). According to Gazier, employability attempts to influence the â€Å"supply† side of the labo r market, that is, the workers and their productive capacities and performance, while the â€Å"demand† side is made up of the companies’ requirement. This theory of Gazier as cited by Weinert (2001) guided the researchers in the research because it gives an idea that employability is supply and demand where in the University produces supply to the Tourism industry yet the â€Å"product†; graduates should meet the demand of the Tourism industry. The researchers believe that to be able to market the graduates, the supply must possess communication skills, human relation, tour guiding skills, management skills, research skills and leadership skills. These skills are crucial to meet the demand of the industry to further promote employability. IMPROVEMENT EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS Figure 1. Conceptual Framework Figure 1 shows that employability is dependent variable from graduates’ skills and the improvement of the university in terms of Curriculum design, services offered by the University and hiring faculty. In relation to the study, the graduates should focus on enhancing both students’ skills and their facilities to have a high employment opportunity. To determine the target respondents for the study, the researchers used the list of graduates. The researchers analyzed the aforesaid skills using Mean, Percentage, ANOVA and Frequency Distribution to determine if significant differences exist in the employability skills of Tourism graduates in relation to their civil status, gender, and year of graduation. The study focused on the BS Tourism Graduates of University of Perpetual Help System DALTA- Molino Campus from year 2005-2009. The respondents were only 25 graduates of tourism from 2005-2009 1. Descriptive Research 2. Researcher –made Questionnaire 3. Statistical Treatment * Frequency * Percentage * Mean * ANOVA Improvements of: -Curriculum Design -Services offered by the University -Hiring Faculty 1. Profile of the Respondents * Civil Status * Gender * Year Graduated * Employment Status * Employed * Unemployed * Nature of Work * Airline * Travel Agency * Cruise ship * Front Office (Hotel) * Hospitality Related Jobs ( Tourism Officer, Casino, Event Organizing) * Others 2. Skills * Communication Skills * Human Relation Skills * Technical Skills * Management Skills * Research Skills * Leadership Skills INPUTProcess OUTPUT Figure 2 Operational Framework Figure 2 above shows that the study will use the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of civil status, gender, nature of work, year of graduation, employment status, and employability skills of the graduate of BST from 2005 – 2009. Such data will be the inputs for the study. A questionnaire developed by the researchers will be used as research instrument. Statistical treatment in the form of frequency distribution, percentage, mean, and ANOVA will be applied to process and interpret the collected data. The inputs and process described above will assist the University in planning and determining factors linked to students learning, curriculum design, and improvement of services provided by UPHSD. This study aims to determine the employability skills of Bachelor of Science in Tourism graduates batch 2005 – 2009 of UPHSD- Molino Campus. METHODS The study covered the Graduates of BS-Tourism Students of batch 2005 – 2009 from University of Perpetual Help System – DALTA Molino Campus as respondents of study which is compose of 25 students. To collect/gather the names of the graduates as well as their contact numbers and addresses to get the total population needed for the study, the researchers sought permission from the office of Student Personnel Service. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondent. The researchers used a descriptive quantitative design for this research After the researchers gathered the list needed for the research, they distributed and administered the questionnaires to the respondents through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and email and researchers also reached them with their contact numbers. Further, the researchers also conducted field work (i.e., home visits) to reach the graduate and completed the data gathering for the period of 5 months. Data we re tabulated after the retrieval and brought to a statistician for statistical treatment, after which the researchers interpreted the result to give recommendation. There are more female graduates of tourism. The dominance of female students in the Tourism programme in this study is in line with a previous study on study motivations in Korea, Taiwan, and China (Kim, et al., 2007), indicating the popularity of hospitality and tourism Management among female students in Asian countries. 1.2 Civil Status; Almost all of the respondents are still single, which implies that if not for personal reasons, the quality and the demand of their current job kept them unmarried. In a book entitled â€Å"Introduction to Hospitality Operations† by Walker 2009, the WTO (World Tourism Association) has declared that tourism industry work is very demanding; it is a 24hour-a day, 7-day-week, 52-week-a-year economic driver. 1.3 Year Graduated Most of the respondents are graduates of Batch 2008-2009. Respondents that graduated earlier from the UPHSD-Molino are less accessible than those who graduated recently, which can be attributed to the demands or location of their jobs as those who have graduated earlier tend be more established in their jobs. 1.4 Employment Status? Most of the respondents are already employed. This indicates the high employability of the graduates of UPHSD-Molino. The program BS Tourism offered by the UPHSD- Molino provides many opportunities for graduates to work in various professions in different sectors such as restaurants, resorts, air and cruise lines, theme parks, and casinos. 1.5 Nature of Work It can be gleaned from the table 1.5 that 88% are employed in work aligned with their course. This indicates that he graduates are generally qualified to jobs aligned or closely aligned with their course, while the 8% are employed to other industry such as in business sector. The remaining 4% is a respondent who resigned from her work, which was inclined to tourism industry, and now focusing on her family. As stated above, the tourism program provides many opportunities for employment, which includes land, air and sea-based work. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS College of International and Hospitality Management is committed to providing quality education by offering a wide range of theoretical and practical knowledge and skills through various aspects of hospitality management which is necessary to every student in becoming competent individuals of society. The above discussion has evaluated the skills of tourism students who graduated from the UPHSD -Molino, particularly, their technical, managerial, research, leadership, human relation, and communication skills. The null hypothesis, in which the researchers assumed no significant difference in the employability skills of the respondents, was rejected. The graduates of each batch rated themselves differently on various skills because of the different situations and factors that affected them during their study. According to the summary of data on different employability skills of tourism graduates, the researchers found significant differences in the employability skills of the respondents. In their analysis, the researchers gleaned that Tourism graduates have strong potential for employment as they have acquired the necessary tourism skills. Along with the Tourism skills, the institution can improve the quality of teaching by bringing students outside the classroom setting such as seminars, hotel and airline familiarizations, tour guiding competition and other tourism-related activities for them to fully experience and understand their field. Because the researchers believe that learning never stops in the four walls of the classroom itself instead they need to be exposed. Hiring faculty who are equipped with background and experience in the tourism industry and related jobs, such as those employed in tourism bureaus in government or tourism-related businesses, and those who have experience in organizing events/programs and activities. Certificates of accreditation from the DOT and other organizations such as TESDA on tour guiding, travel management, and so on would help instructors in molding and developing students as better tourism industry professionals with high employability. Faculty with tourism industry experience can share more of their familiarity with the industry that is not purely textbook-dependent. In terms of technical skills, revealed as a weakness among the graduates, the University should extend utmost effort to provide facilities of the tourism college such as ticketing office with systems of Fidelio, Abacus, and Amadeus. Offer different language course in every year for them to be globally competitive. 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