Question

Essay on hospitality education and career

Answer 1

Today, hospitality education is a coveted career and the National Council receives four times more applications than its fixed intake. India has nearly 150 institutes in the approved category, both in the government and private sector. And there are 25 craft-level institutes, which impart short courses. Hospitality institutes produce 14,000 graduates, of which 4,000 are diploma and certificate holders. So, 18,000 trained professionals are produced every year, 22 percent at the skills level and 78 per cent at graduate level. A survey by the Ministry of Tourism indicates that there is a demand for 2.03 lakh trained hospitality professionals every year of which 66 percent is at skill level, and 34 per cent at managerial level.

The Tourism Ministry has developed a master plan to increase intake in existing institutes. More craft and skill-level programmes have been introduced, while hospitality education has been broadbased to include hospitality vocational courses at ITIs, polytechnics, at 10+2 stage of CBSE and introduction of specific tailor-made skill testing and certification programmes.

Further, the Certified Hospitality Trainer Programme aims to provide employment to meritorious students at IHMs from within its system and honouring them with the best of wages the industry has to offer. By the end of the 11th five-year plan, the target is to have 49 Institutes of Hotel Management and 31 Food Craft Institutes, plus a tourism management centre in the south. But there’s a need to standardise the quality of hospitality education. And, students must be cautious of some of the hospitality institutions in the private sector before seeking admissions in them.