Move aside engineering and medicine

INN(Infodea News Network), @infodeaofficial;

Of late medical and engineering are not the only prospects which guarantee a career growth and a high salary. There are many avenues available, irrespective of their academic score, both in a conventional and unconventional sector. Out of these many options, one is hospitality and tourism management. In today’s era of globalisation, hospitality industry is assuming greater significance and is fast developing into an advantageous career provider.

Moreover, with globalisation gaining acceptance with more and more countries, the hotel management industry is becoming global. Today, a training in hospitality management encompasses training in various aspects of the business of hotel-related industry, travel and tourism related industry and housekeeping and catering in a hospitality industry. Hospitality management is the part of the service industry.

One of the fastest growing

Hospitality is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that hospitality and tourism generated 8.31 lakh crore ($120 billion) or 6.3% of the nation’s GDP in 2015 and supported 37.315 million jobs, 8.7% of its total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5% to 18.36 lakh crore ($270 billion) by 2025 (7.2% of GDP). This makes India, one of the fastest growing hospitality and tourism industries. It is one of the highest job oriented fields; it offers various elective. It includes different businesses like restaurants, hotels, casinos, resorts, tour agencies and airlines. With a degree in hospitality management, there are many options that can be pursued.

Skills you need

The aspirants of this industry should have above-average skills in communication and reasoning, sound numerical aptitude and pleasing personality, therefore if the candidate lacks these skills, he must inculcate them. Since hospitality management involves a high level of customer interaction, those with a natural flair for networking, especially with the corporate clients and customers and with the ability to build a rapport with key decision-makers, will do well.

The courses

Graduation and PG programme in Hospitality Management has been thoughtfully designed for those who have cleared Class 12 and graduated from any stream, students who want to make their career in this field must have good communication skills with an amiable personality, command over spoken English, and knowledge of a foreign language is an added advantage. Als, the entry to most top colleges in this field is through entrance exams which comprises of a combination of aptitude tests and creative ability tests. While the former is common to other exams, the latter tests the person’s creativity and artistic abilities.

The avenues

The chief focus is on the need of their customers. Therefore many professional works in different departments of hospitality like:

Hotel Managers: The managers are in charge of overall operations of their establishments, control all the aspects like finance, services, catering, food quality and housekeeping.

Front Office Manager: In-charge of the work of front end desk, information clerk, receptionists and other services, coordinate reservations and room assignments

Executive Chefs: Head the kitchens under whose direction the other chef prepare the menu and meal.

Food and Beverage Manager:  Looks after the overall work of the catering departments, plans, organizes and controls the establishments from small informal dinning to large restaurants.

Restaurant and Food Service Managers: Are responsible for inventories and stocks of daily consumption and usage, Arranges for equipment maintenance and repairs. Maintain records of working hours, shifts and wages of employees, taxes, etc.

Housekeeping: Responsible for clean, orderly and well maintained ambience of the property. They supervise training, scheduling and the work of housekeeping, room inspection and maintaining cleaning supplies.

The Opportunities

After completing graduation or PG in hotel management students can work with 5 star hotels, national and international airports, cabin crew, other options include opening your own restaurant, working as an event planner, or even pursuing career in travel or tourism or can become lodging manager, restaurant manager, casino manager, cruise director, concierge, travel agent and event planner among others.

The Pay

After completing the degree in hospitality management one can get into the industry as a trainee and then be absorbed into various positions after completing the training. The entry level salary of a hotel management graduate can be around Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 and can increase with growing experience.