the gap between academia and hospitality industry in egypt- paper2007

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“How Far is the Hotel Academic Studies Consistent with the Hospitality Industry in Egypt” Presented by Dr. Dina Mostafa Weheba PhD Lecturer, Hotel Department, Faculty of Tourism & Hotels, University of Alexandria, Dr. Mosharrafa Street, El Shatby, Alexandria, Egypt Tel: +203 484 3123 FAX: +203 487 8401 Mobile: +201 1193 7292 Email: [email protected] , [email protected] [1]

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This is a research paper that was presented in an International Conference, in Sharm el Shaiek, Egypt in October, 2007.It studied the causes of the gap between what hospitality educational institutions and the actual practical side of the hospitality career in Egypt.

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Page 1: The Gap between academia and hospitality industry in Egypt- Paper2007

“How Far is the Hotel Academic Studies Consistent with the Hospitality Industry in Egypt”

Presented by

Dr. Dina Mostafa Weheba

PhD Lecturer, Hotel Department, Faculty of Tourism & Hotels, University of Alexandria,

Dr. Mosharrafa Street, El Shatby, Alexandria, Egypt

Tel: +203 484 3123 FAX: +203 487 8401

Mobile: +201 1193 7292

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

[1]

Page 2: The Gap between academia and hospitality industry in Egypt- Paper2007

Acknowledgement

To Prof. Salah El Din Abd El Wahab, Words can’t thank you enough, and time is not long

enough to thank you as much you should be thanked, I am honored meeting you and discussing the topic with you, and I hope my work is somehow

useful to the involved parties

To Prof. Mahmoud Heweidy, It’s not easy to find such a graceful and helpful

personality, thank you for everything, I just hope that I can make some slight good changes

To my family, Thanking you all for supporting me all the time, love

you all

[2]

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Abstract

The Hospitality Industry is one of the most important industries that demands special requirements and skills in those who are willing to be part of the career. It has been thought that recent graduates of the hospitality educational institutes are not qualified enough to perform effectively in this ever-changing industry. This research poses some major questions emphasizing the main problems that –if answered- can help solving some of the major issues that are forming the gap between the academic studies and the hospitality industry in Egypt. The research approached three categories; representing the main parties of the hospitality career: Hotel Managers, Hospitality Educational Professionals and students. The responses gathered will focus on the problems facing each party, thus suggesting ways to overcome them and finding simple approaches to help hospitality industry get better graduates of the Hospitality Educational institutions. The research follows a descriptive analytical method, criticizing recent methods used in supplying graduates with the information they need to know before they start working in the hospitality career.

Introduction and Overview:

Higher Education in Egypt may be considered the oldest education system in the world.

(EL MAHDY, 2001) stated that in recent years approximately one-third of the students

enter general secondary schools, the traditional route to universities. Almost 70% of

students are channeled into technical secondary education, but less than 20% gain

employment when they leave.

Current State of the Higher Education System in Egypt:

Overall Education Structure

When talking about higher education, it is very difficult to rule out the rest

of the educational ladder prior to higher education. Outputs from

[3]

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secondary education are the normal stream of higher education. The

current overall education structure in Egypt by age and level is

schematically represented in the layout shown in Fig. (1). The layout gives

a comprehensive overview of the education system in Egypt highlighting

entries to and exits from the different levels of education into the labor

market and society.

Figure (1): Overall Education Structure in Egypt by Level and Age

Graduates from general secondary are streamed directly into 4, 5 or 6 year programs of

university education. Graduates from general secondary education can join the non-

university stream of middle and higher technical institutes when their grades do not meet

the grades needed for enrollment into university education. Although the chances of this

category of graduates for getting into university is limited, the flexibility of the system

allows equal opportunities to all students graduating from secondary education to be

admitted into university if they wish to do so, after passing the entry exam. In the

[4]

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academic year 2000/2001, only 326 students were able to meet enrollment criteria into

university education. (El Mahdy, 2001)

Strengths and Weaknesses of Higher Education in Egypt:

Strengths in the Egyptian higher education system are identified as the strong human

resources made up mainly of university professors, the large variety of educational and

research disciplines, and the existence of some institutions with very long experience in

higher education.

Weaknesses, however, fall mainly into two main categories:

1- The very high loading of staff with direct consequence on the average quality of

graduates:

Limited financial resources

Over-crowding

Inadequate infrastructure

Under-trained faculty members in some areas,

Poor instructional materials and equipment, and

Lack of modern education technology manifest the low quality of graduates.

2- Low system efficiency, is manifested by:

Lack of sustainable financial policy

Weak accountability within academia and

Lack of formal assessment and accreditation mechanism. 1

Accordingly, the Egyptian higher education faces a number of challenges, namely in:

1- System-wide governance and management

2- Quality and relevance at the university level

3- Quality and relevance at the middle technical level

4- Fiscal sustainability of publicly enrollments

The 2nd challenge will be discussed in more details here. (EL MAHDY, 2001)

Quality and relevance at the university level:

1 In the academic year 1974/75 four assistant/staff existed on the average. In 1987/88 the ratio was about 1 assistant/staff, whereas in 1998/99, about 0.6 assistants/staff were available. A considerable drop in the assistants o staff ratio is noted over the past 15 years (almost 7 times at an average annual drop of about 0.45%

[5]

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Clearly, not every student is gifted with the abilities needed to succeed at the university

level and the selection process needs to be able to sort students on the basis of icharacteristics that are stronger predictors to success (especially in faculties of Tourism

and hotels that require special requirements in their students). This could, for instance,

be:

o Foundation knowledge

o Competency in study skills

o Writing ability

o Intellectual ability

o Motivation

o Foreign languages proficiency (especially in faculties where some courses are

taught in English)

Education Input:

Weaknesses in the educational inputs can be classified in two groups related to:

1- Infrastructure &

2- Academic staff

1- Infrastructure:

The size of the system poses special challenges in making substantial

investments in infrastructure, its operation, continuous rehabitation and

periodical maintenance. Also, the combination of inadequate libraries and

ineffective integration of IT in the educational process contributes directly to

low quality in higher education, specifically:

a) The lack of an overall technology plan2

b) Information Technology (IT) and the internet within individual

universities. There is a shortage of modern IT for teaching, libraries and

research. At the National level, the 12 Universities are connected to the

Egyptian University Network (EUN) with the Supreme Council of

Universities (SCU) acting as the hub, or focal point of the network. There

2 Cairo, El Mansoura and Assiut Universities have already established IT centers and started to build their own modern Management Information Systems (MIS)

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is currently no content (research material, library catalog, learning media,

etc.) available through EUN.

c) Libraries: Low rates of stock replacement and a high proportion of

outdated content contributed to the currently low-level-use of libraries,

and the weak management means that their improvement is less likely to

be made a financial priority. Egypt’s twelve public Universities have over

200 libraries with often poorly maintained buildings and equipment.

2- Academic Staff: Academic staff are affected by:

1- Selection & recruitment practices

2- Academic qualifications & competencies

3- Remuneration and other incentives

Educational Process:

Educational process issues can be grouped into main 8 categories, all affect the

teaching process:

1- Teaching methods

2- Workload/ teaching loads

3- Working conditions

4- Staff promotion, performance assessment and accountability

5- Academic staff responsibilities

6- Use of modern educational technology

7- Research development

8- Student activities (ALLPORT, 1998)3

Literature Review:

The gap between academia and the hospitality industry is affected by many factors:

1- The current higher education system and its disadvantages, including the

following:

a. The lack of scientific knowledge of the new graduate

3 There is no space here to discuss the educational process lengthy, especially in the introduction part.[7]

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b. Focusing on specialization from the very first phase of the higher

education and its study process, contradicts with the fact that the same

level of study can be reached within a 4-year-study, the same way when

having a diploma (post graduate certificate) within only 2 years.

c. The limited communication with the chambers of Tourism and Hotels &

stakeholders on one side and on the other side, the hospitality higher

educational institutions. (Their participation is often honorable)

d. There is no international educational system used in higher education or

even the possibility of related scientific exchanging programs either in

Egypt or abroad. (HEWEDY, 2005)4

2- Workload of the academic staff, which cuts much of their energy and time to start

communicating with hospitality specialists. The workload of teachers is not quite

equal; the amount of teaching to be done becomes evident just before the

beginning of a term. In addition to teaching, lecturers need to be involved in

research and development insuring the expertise and competence required for

supervision of students’ research work, graduation projects, etc. Other tasks of

teachers include compiling of new teaching material, curriculum development and

management; participation in research and development activities, as well as well-

planned in-service training form an important part of the contribution made by the

teaching staff. (Kuressaare College, 2006)

In Kuressaare College, Estonia, teachers attended a summer course on teaching in a

higher education, in August 2006, which proves that the teaching staff needs training and

updating of knowledge just the same as students, specially in the hospitality career, where

changes are endless.

The Head of the department of academic affairs is responsible for planning and

organization of the provision of education (organization of duties, coordination of the

work and negotiations with teaching staff and counseling of students), which the

Egyptian Universities lack practicing it in general.

4 This is a translated reference from Arabic, a lecture given by Prof. Heweidy.[8]

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Applying Quality Assurance in Higher Education can also have many advantages, as its

main purpose is the improvement of the graduates’ ability to compete in the labor market.

Quality of the study process depends on:

Administration of Studies: regulations, systematic analysis of study process,

effective arrangement of study process at an internationally acceptable level.

Study environment: infrastructure, library, etc.

Study programs: and their development based on systematic self-evaluation and

feedback from students, and hotel managers. Expectations and requirements of

potential hotel managers and customers are met and exceeded by the University.

Academic staff: evaluated through annual performance reports, feedback from

students, and requirements for promotion, etc.

Feedback from students regarding the quality of teaching is obtained mostly by filling the

questionnaire that has to be attached to the documents of evaluating the instructor, for

future promotion or upgrading of his/her skills.

The students complete anonymously a survey form. The collected responses are

interpreted and the results delivered to the teachers and the Dean. The feedback from

students is an important part in evaluating teachers as well as in improving the overall

quality of the teaching process.

Strengths of applying quality on the study process are:

1. A great demand for tourism and hospitality professionals

2. Highly qualified and professional teaching staff, motivated to further their

knowledge and skills.

3. The teaching staff includes practitioners who are experts in their field.

4. Constant student-feedback, including evaluation of the quality of teaching.

5. Good contact with hotel managers, training placement reports also provide

feedback for curriculum development.

6. Appreciation of the standard and results of education by the graduates and hotel

managers.

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7. System of individual student counseling helps to advance academic progress and

to motivate learners. (http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/411/Egypt-

EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html)

Concept of the Study:

This study has two areas; the first one is discussing four main questions that, if properly

considered, can give the solutions and remedy to the problem of the existing gap between

academic studies and the hospitality industry in Egypt. The second part of the study is a

field research that was done through distributing three different questionnaire forms on

the three parties that are linked to the problem of the study, represented in:

Teaching Staff of the hotel department

Hotel Managers of chain hotels

Students of the hotel department (mainly at the faculty of Tourism & Hotels,

University of Alexandria)5

Methodology:

The purpose of this research is to know what causes the gap between academia and the

hospitality industry. The study contains a literature part, presenting four main questions,

if considered properly, can crystallize the whole issue of the gap. As well as a field study

which includes three questionnaire forms, telephone interviews and personal interviews

The chosen sample of this study covered the main three parties involved in the problem,

to know how each of them sees the problem, and what suggestions they can offer, from

their points of view, can help in reaching the remedies.

The sample covered the following:

5 This research was conducted during summer vacation, and reaching students of other faculties was like impossible at this time of the year. The researcher could reach the students as they are connected through their online group, started by the researcher years ago. It was a better and faster way to communicate with students even during holidays and days off.

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Professors, PhD lecturers, Instructors and administrators of the hotel department,

in the University of Alexandria, Helwan University, Suez Canal University, and

El-Mansoura University.

Hotel Managers of 5 star-hotels in Cairo, Giza, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh

Students of the hotel department, especially of the Faculty of Tourism & Hotels,

University of Alexandria.

Questionnaire forms were emailed to the sample of the study, as well as some telephone

interviews were made, and personal interviews. It was not easy to gather the answered

forms, as unfortunately some staff members and hotel managers do not take it seriously

sometimes.

The students covered 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students of the department. The form was put on

the internet and the researcher got answers either on the Hotel Department online group

(started by the researcher about 4 years ago to communicate online with her students) or

by email.

The total gathered responses of Staff members formed about 60% of the expected ones.

The total gathered responses of hotel managers formed about 50% of the sent forms, and

the total gathered responses of students formed about 65% of the expected answers.

Research Method:

The research method used in this study is the descriptive, analytical method, and

sometimes criticizing existing conditions facing higher education in general and the

hospitality studies in particular, knowing the causes of the gap between what hotels

expect in recent graduates and what actual graduates have gained throughout their

academic hospitality studies, and whether or not staff members can help provide both

sides with what can be beneficial for them in the future.

This type of research did not have hypothesis given, as it was meant to have the four

main questions answered, as well as knowing what each party has to say regarding the

problem of the study.

Defining the actors:

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1- Staff members: They are the education staff, represented in Professors, PhD

Lecturers, Administrators and Instructors of the hotel department in various

faculties of Tourism and Hotels in Egypt.

2- Hotel Managers: They are hotel managers of 5-star-hotels in Egypt. Mainly

General Managers, who are accused of refusing to communicate with the

educational institutions to reach better quality graduates. The study reveals

whether or not they are guilty of the accusation.

3- Students: They are the medium party, who are directly affected by whatever

the other previous two parties decide what actions to take or not. They have

their own dreams, joining the hospitality career, as well as being asked for

special skills to have better job opportunities. Their suggestions were also

required in this study.

Presentation of the study:

The study was conducted by posing the following four important questions, in an

approach to reach some answers:

1- Is the higher education in our Egyptian Universities represents a general

knowledge or is it professional hospitality education?

Working in hospitality industry only needs general knowledge; as any graduate of

any faculty of Tourism & Hotels in Egypt, is only required to have the general

basic knowledge as any other graduate, and it’s the hotel’s job to take care of the

rest, and starts allocating him/her where is most matching his/her skills. Then

trains him/her according to the job requirements, but the graduates of the

hospitality institutions have very little practical knowledge, which let us reach the

following idea:

The higher education does not allow the students to professionally work in the

hospitality industry, as well as other faculties, which happen to take a different

action to overcome this problem, which is:

For example: Graduates of the faculty of Law do not have the permission to start

actual work before having a 2-year-training in a law office. Then they can be able

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to work in their own career, meaning that Practical side is required to start a

career.

Another example: graduates of the faculty of Medicine cannot also practice until

they have a 1-year-practice, in a general/public hospital.

This can lead us to think why can’t a hospitality graduate have the same condition

of not starting to work in a hotel until he/she has successfully passed about a one-

year-training in hotels, in different departments will be better as well, so that the

graduate gets the wider idea about where he works and how to excel in the area

where he/she will continue working at. The hospitality career is all about how to

communicate with people and how to be hospitable and many skills are needed to

sculpture the graduates’ personality before dealing with guests. (This can be

overcome if there is some kind of training, in coordination with hotels, during the

academic years, mainly the whole summer time, where the hotel can train the

students, according to his policy and the promising candidates can start working

right after graduation, having the working experience and the skills required.6

2- Is the curriculum flexible enough to be adjusted and modified in way that can

best help the needed requirements in the hospitality careers, especially in

hotels?

Hospitality educational institutes vary all over the world, as many of the

conditions are affected with:

1- The percentage of the general curriculums included in the specialized courses

2- The total number of teaching hours

3- The percentage of the specialized courses

4- The number of practical hours in the courses, etc

The curriculum should be routinely/periodically evaluated, to be flexible

enough to have the courses changed when needed, as the hospitality career is

an ever-changing one, and students should be familiar with what’s new in the

career, not studying courses that are no longer used nowadays in the

hospitality industry.

6 See data analysis for more details.[13]

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3- Are all curriculums of the hospitality educational institutions in Egypt

identical? Should they be so? Or should curriculum differ according to

geographic regions?

The answer to this question is NO. Not all curriculums are identical, they vary

from one faculty to another, according to geographical needs and requirements,

but in general they keep similar to what is given to students all over the higher

hospitality educational institutions. (See Appendix for examples of different

curriculums of Faculties of Tourism & Hotels in Egypt).

4- Do the requirements of the hospitality industry in Egypt match the hospitality

requirements all over the world or not?

No, the requirements of the hospitality industry in Egypt doe not match those all

over the world. Specially while these requirements are always changing and

adjustable, even in hotels, as these hotels deal and communicate with various

types of people, with different personalities, nationalities, tastes, expectations,

requirements and needs, etc.

Still, the Egyptian higher hospitality educational institutes should do their best to

follow up with these changes, and to have more flexible curriculums that can be

easily adjusted according to any changes in the field.

Data Collection:

Three structured screening questionnaire forms were sent by email to a non random

sample of hotel managers, staff members of higher education institutes of the hospitality

industry in Egypt, (Faculties of Tourism & Hotels), as well as a sample of students of the

faculty of Tourism & Hotels, University of Alexandria.

The objective of the questionnaire forms was to try to reach the following:

Where does the problem of the gap between academia and the hospitality industry

lie.

Are hotels willing to help academic educational institutes prepare better graduates

that hotels will benefit from in the near future or not?

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Are the staff members accepting the idea of communicating with hotels to

improve the syllabus and innovating them when required or not.

Suggestions for remedying the problem, as seen by all three parties of the study

Difficulties facing the three parties of the study that can be solved with some

continuous communication.

Data Analysis:

1- Staff Members’ Questionnaire:

The forms were distributed on staff members of faculty of Tourism & Hotels,

University of Alexandria, Helwan University, Mansoura University and Suez

Canal University. (See Appendix for a copy of the questionnaire form). The

answers came as follows:

60% of staff members approve that the practical part of the curriculum

matches the needs of the hospitality industry, while 40% do not.

As for how they see it matches the hotel needs, the answers came a bit

strange, as it was shocking to know that staff members did not know what

was meant by the practical part of the curriculum, and instead they gave

the following answers:

o The summer training is good enough as training and practical part.

(30%)

o Field visits to hotels (20%)

o Field research, which the students do during their academic year

(20%)

o Some said that just some of the courses match the what hotels look

for in candidates/graduates. (20%)

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Page 16: The Gap between academia and hospitality industry in Egypt- Paper2007

o Some staff members had to overcome this problem by offering

students a chance to practice these practical parts in class (live),

with special and individual efforts of the staff members.

Staff members were asked if they ever cooperate with hotel specialists in some given

practical curriculum, and the answers came as follows: (See figure 2)

80% of them cooperated while 20% of the sample did not.

About 60% of staff members got help from teaching staff in some hospitality

institutions, but that turned to give the students just plain theoretical lectures

again.

20% of staff got help from specialists as in some seminars and conferences, and

not throughout the whole course.

The remaining 20% stopped getting help from any hotel specialists, as they stated

that they refused to come lecture at the faculties as their income was declining.

Figure (2)

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Staff members were asked if they can tell what a hotel needs in new graduates, and the

answers were: 70% stated that they knew what a hotel needs, and the remaining 30% did

not know.

The 70% were then asked, how can they tell, and the answers were as follows:

40% knew about these needs by being close to the hotel business

50% did so by knowing friends in the field

While about 5% could tell what a hotel needs from following the paper ads.

And finally the last 5% knew it on their own during going to hotels while doing a

research. (See figure 3)

Figure (3)

About 70% of staff members try to improve the characters of their students to

match what a hotel requires in a fresh graduate, and the remaining 30% do not.

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It was noticed that about 60% of staff members have either a training kitchen or

restaurant in their faculty, while the 40% did not. This indicates that many

students will not get the practical study that they should specially in this

hospitality field. On the other hand, only 30% answered that they have a practical

hotel, where students can know all about hotel departments and the atmosphere,

and 70% did not have a hotel in their faculty. It is almost a must, NOT to open a

faculty of Tourism and Hotels without having a hotel attached to it.

2- Hotel Manager’s Questionnaire:

Many hotels were contacted either by email or by phone, to ask for a contact

person to send the questionnaire form by mail, to be answered and emailed back.

The hotels surveyed were in Cairo, Giza, Red Sea, Abu Soma, El Gona, and

Sharm El Sheikh. Some emails were sent to the central hotel chain website, and

only few sent an answered form.

Strangely, hotel managers’ answers were almost identical in some points, which

actually prove that hotels are having almost the same requirements in their

candidates everywhere in Egypt.

The majority of the GMs stated that the most important characteristics required in

new applicants are: (arranged according to priority)

1) Attitude, leadership experience, intellectual ability, foreign language,

cleanliness, dress and posture, first impression, personality and service

attitude.

2) Verbal & listening skills, writing skills, computer skills, teamwork,

motivation, planning and organizing, problem solving, following work

standards, maturity.

3) Flexibility, decisiveness, performing skills, stress tolerance, humor and

optimism, general health, physical ability and schooling.

4) Social skills and general background came as least important requirements in

a candidate from managers’ view point. See table (1)

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Most of the hotel managers contacted hospitality educational institutions to look for new

applicants among graduates, repeatedly either in writing or orally, but it was not

necessarily a useful approach for hotels.

Hotel managers saw that a hotel should take the first action to communicate with

hospitality educational institutions, then both parties should keep such communication,

and their clear message was: “open our minds to communicate”.

Hotel managers believe that such communication helps new graduates to find job

opportunities in hotels, as:

- Awareness brings improvement

- Continuous improvement betters chances to excel

- Network communication (between hotels and institutions) is essential for

hospitality educational institutions.

All hotels had agreed upon the possibility of introducing graduates to hospitality

careers.

All hotels welcomed the idea of offering summer training for hotel department

students, and one particular hotel agreed to have some kind of arrangement with the

administration of the faculty of Tourism & Hotels. Hotels also agreed to receive

periodical “field visits” of hotel department students, and arrangements can be

discussed, regarding how many students and how often per month.

Hotel managers also found it essential for them to take part in the annual students’

interviews to join the faculties of Tourism & Hotels. Some hotels see that students

should be chosen according to their grades gained at the end of the Secondary

Education, while other managers see it differently; students should be having the will

to join this career, and “Aptitude and talents should be included in deciding the

course of education”.

Suggestions of hotel managers were mainly regarding the importance of the better-

understanding between Hospitality Education and the hospitality industry and to

remain students in skills that can help them find jobs (languages, computer, writing,

verbal, etc)

Table (1) Hotel managers rated most required characteristics in new applicants

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Most Important Least Important Attitude Leadership Intellectual ability Foreign language Dress and posture Cleanliness First impression Personality Service attitude

Social skills General background

3- Students’ Questionnaire:

As for students of the hotel department who answered the form, 50% of them were at

4th year, 20% at 3rd year, 20% at 2nd year and 10% were post graduate students, who

were graduated from the faculty about one year ago, and are continuing higher

courses. All answers showed that students agree that there is a solid connection

between what they study and the real work in hotels, but the strength of this

connection varied: 30% of the sample think it’s less than 30% strong, 60% felt that it

ranges between 31-50% strong, and only 10% saw that it is over 51-75% connection.

Students suggested the following approaches to have them get closer to what happens

in hotel business in real life:

- Workshops and seminars with hotel specialists (speakers) 15%

- Visiting lecturers from hotels on regular basis (monthly, bimonthly or weekly)

25%

- Having hotel visits throughout the academic year. 20%

- Practical training (specialists) 30%

- Having a real built-in hotel inside the faculty for practical training all year

round.10%

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Many students preferred to start working in hotels wherever their supervisor/manager

allocate them, as they put it, the supervisor knows best what position suits them well.

(50%)

Other students (about 30%) preferred starting their careers from the very first level, either

in the restaurant or the kitchen.

About 20% of the students preferred working at the Front Office, or Reservation

Department, being the most common area of guest contact. The students’ choices were

taken and here are the reasons why:

- Starting at the chosen place for them gives them a better chance to get better,

following the work standards, as it can be the best way to get to know all job

responsibilities and duties, thus being able to manage younger employees better in

the future. Finally, many students chose the Front Office department as that’s

where they started working and have some knowledge in that area.

Students were asked whether they think working in the hospitality industry requires some

special requirements or not. The majority of answers showed that student agree that there

are certain required skills (90%) They also rated the given most common requirements

according to their priorities, as follows:

Foreign languages - (The same way as GM’s put them)

Cleanliness, dress and posture – (Rated 1st on the GM’s list)

A caring person who loves to serve others – (Rated LAST on GM’s list)

Physical appearance – (Rated 1st on GM’s list)

Social skills – ( Rated LAST on GM’s list)

General knowledge – (Matches what the GM’s place it on the list)

Intellectual ability – (Does not match the GM’s needs)

Rank Hotel Managers’ Opinion

Rank Students’ Opinion

1 Attitude 1 Foreign language

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2 Leadership 2 Cleanliness, dress & posture

3 Intellectual ability 3 Caring personality

4 Foreign language 4 Physical appearance

5 Dress and posture 5 Social skills

6 Cleanliness 6 General knowledge

7 First impression 7 Intellectual ability

8 Personality

9 Service attitude

10 Social skills

11 General backgroundTable (2) Required skills in the hospitality industry as seen by Managers & Students

In table (2), the results showed how far each party (students & Managers) from actual

requirements. It proves that the link is broken between the industry and what students

study and know during their academic studies. Their priorities are different from what

hotel managers actually look for, meaning that will cause a gap in finding jobs in this

career after graduation.

On the other hand, students’ suggested the following points to link what they study with

what really hospitality business is all about:

1- Knowing what hotel specialists has to say (practical study)

2- Training programs, seminars and meetings with specialists in the business.

3- Visiting hotels throughout the academic year.

4- Developing the curriculum to follow up with the hotel market changes

5- Having a built-in training hotel is a must in any hospitality educational institute.

6- Decreasing the number of accepted students to the faculties, for better quality

learning.

7- Having real summer training in real hotels, and having a better chance of good job

opportunities after graduation.

Figure (4)[22]

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Results and Discussion:

1) Staff Members’ questionnaire:

The most important result part of the form was the suggestions of staff members

to help offer hotels the type and personality of students that they looks for, their

suggestions came arranged starting with priority, as follows:

1. Cooperation is a must when deciding how to teach a practical course.

2. The practical training during the academic year.

3. Developing the teacher in a way that keeps him/her updated with the

industry’s changes.

4. The existing of both a kitchen and a restaurant is a must in all faculties of

tourism & hotels.

5. Focusing more on foreign languages, their labs as well as the computer labs

and courses.

6. Decreasing the number of students accepted at the faculty each year, to match

the available halls and equipment, giving each student a better chance to learn

and be well-qualified.

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7. Communicating directly with both Tourism and Hotel Chambers, and

reaching a way to keep in touch with hotels and educational hospitality

institutions.

8. Exchanging expertise via workshops.

9. Quality Assurance in Education.

10. Cancelling the specialized Diploma for non-faculty of tourism graduates, as

this decreases their chances of working in the hospitality career.

2) Hotel Managers’ Questionnaire:

It was noticed that managers are looking for about four groups of characteristics

in a candidate: The first group is related to good personality, and managers can

judge most of the applicants from the first impression, when they are interviewed.

He /She should have a service-tendency personality, with proper intellectual

ability, and a well-spoken foreign language that can allow him/ her to

communicate with guests, co-workers, and even managers.

The second group of the most important characteristics required, deals with the

candidate’s abilities & skills that can be useful for him on the job (verbal,

listening, writing, computer and interpersonal skills) All these skills are required

to help him/ her communicate with his co-workers , in planning & organizing,

how to solve problems as well as being skilled enough to follow the work

standards. (Mentally matured candidate).

The third group of characteristics deals with how the candidate should be able to

perform his job; flexible, can make a decision, having a sense of humor and to be

optimistic enough to overcome some stress caused by work, as well as being in

good health and with suitable physical ability to bear any required hard work.

The last group of required characteristics, are social skills and general

background, as if having the previous three groups, the candidate would be almost

qualified to have the background needed for the job.

One particular hotel agreed to have a written agreement with the faculty’s

administration to start giving summer training for 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students.

(Similar arrangements can be done, to have the maximum number of hotel

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department students trained well during summer) The hotel offered the possibility

of serving all meals and full accommodation to trainees, which is more than what

a student can expect during summer training. This actually defeats that accusation

about hotel managers not accepting to train students of hotel department in

Egyptian Hospitality Educational Institutions. Eventually, this hotel will be

having its own, well-trained and ready candidates, knowing its policies, thus,

saving time and money of training brand new candidates all over again,

meanwhile helping educational institutions with their oral summer training

problem. Surveyed hotels saw that such step can help both sides, offering better

job opportunities for students, as well as better understanding of the real world of

hospitality, as it helps everybody at the end.

Knowing more about students talents and skills, can be achieved through some

kind of “introductory form”, handed to new students, (2nd year students of hotel

department) to collect more data and information about students’ schooling, skills,

languages, even his/her hobbies, and to keep records of this data, and update them

when required, adding some notes about students’ personality and other gained

skills for example. (WEHEBA, A. KADER, 2006)

The study showed ways of some approaches achieved by the researcher, which

was very useful for the teacher, and it will also help the hotel manager choose a

promising candidate from.

3) Students’ Questionnaire:

It is strange how students rated the characteristics they see are required in a candidate.

It shows that much work is needed to try to have them know what managers really

need in a graduate, to do their best to excel in what is required, and focus on what

really matters during their academic studies.

To students, intellectual ability and physical appearance do not really count, maybe

that’s because of what the previous educational system requires (Secondary

education), there is no need to use the mind rather than study what you see in the

book by heart, but that is NOT the case at all in the hospitality studies, as they DO

require someone who is intelligent enough to deal with so many various situations, as

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well as someone who knows types of people and guests. That was a very important

point that the field study showed, and it proved that something has to be done about

accepting all types of students who –most of them- are rated for their ability to study

things by heart, and are least likely to solve problems or take a decision when needed,

as that is NOT what they were taught to do.

Recommendations:

1- Increasing the communication with the chambers of Tourism and Hotels &

stakeholders on one side and on the other side, the hospitality higher educational

institutions.

2- Organizing some kind of arrangement between the faculties of Tourism and

Hotels, especially those which do not have the practical tools and equipment, to

set programs with hotels, to give real practical training in hotels, and by time

hotels will have expected manpower, and students will get to know more about

hotels.

3- Increasing the studying hours of practical syllabus (Making sure that it’s

practically applied)

4- Decreasing the numbers of new accepted students to join the faculty of Tourism

& Hotels, to ensure better job opportunities and to select them according to the

qualifications required by the hospitality market.

5- Applying a “whole-year-training-program”, (Industry Placement) For all students

of the hotel management department, they should not graduate unless they finish

with a “Pass” a one-year-training before graduation. (Taking after other faculties,

requiring special training before start working).

6- Considering the skills and qualifications required to accept new students at the

faculties of Tourism and Hotels, as recently, most of the students joining these

faculties, choose to do so, taking it as the last best choice,(or the best of the worst

choices, not as they like the career at all) when their grades do not allow them to

join their first-choice of the faculties.

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7- An integrated survey should take place to reach the actual indicators about the

required specifications, characteristics and personality skills, in the fresh graduate

in order to be qualified to find a good job opening. Trying to reach the

weaknesses in the graduates’ overall level, through conducting a descriptive and

quantitative research.

8- Some useful guidelines for the Quality Assurance of the study process are:

1. Regularly interview the graduates to obtain feedback.

2. Analyze the effectiveness of the system for the evaluation of the

professional activities of teaching staff members.

3. Deans, together with the curriculum committee, need to arrange joint

meetings of students and instructors to discuss the content of self-

evaluation reports for a continuous and systematic curriculum

development.

Practical Implications:

Plan of Action to be taken:

1. To increase the number of teachers, to continue in-service training of the existing

staff.

2. To co-operate with other institutions in the field of curriculum development, in-

service training and preparing of new learning resources.

3. To train specialized training supervisors or instructors to be able to train students.

4. To strengthen the motivation of students; foundation of new scholarships by local

hotels, chains and companies.

5. Close integration of theoretical/academic studies and practical training.

6. Specialized study of courses to be educated by the staff members.

7. Rising qualifications of teachers ( Which is already done through some training

courses and workshops, but they need to be taken for other reasons than

promotion of position).

i

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8. Teaching staff should include practitioners who are experts in their field, and to

make sure that they are well compensated.

9. Individual and learner-oriented approach in study process, close contacts with the

teachers.

10. Flexibility, consideration of previous learning and work experience.

11. Application of modern methods of teaching and e-learning.

12. Good facilities with modern presentation equipment, WiFi areas.

13. Technologically well-equipped facilities for conducting practical cookery classes.

14. Increasing need for qualified graduates in tourism and hotel sector.

References:

1. ALLPORT, Carolyn, “Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Life Long Learning &

Implications for University Staff”, Journal of High Education Policy and

Management, Vol. 22 No. 1, May, 2000. pp. 37-46

2. EL MAHDY, M. S., “Higher Education Vision for the 21st Century: A Future

Outlook” A keynote paper presented at the CAINET99 Fourth Internet

Conference & Exhibition, Cairo, 1999. PP. 11+

3. EL MAHDY, Mohsen, Higher Education in Egypt, Report of the MOHE, Jan.,

2001, PP. 23+

4. HEWEDY, M. Mahmoud, “The Relationship between Higher Education, Training

and Research and the Hospitality Industry; General Readings in the Lost Links”,

Faculty of Tourism & Hotel Management, Fayoum, 2005. (In Arabic)

5. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/411/Egypt-EDUCATIONAL-

SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html6. http://eu.europa.eu/ education /programmes/tempus/countries/higher/ egypt .pdf

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7. http://tn.gov/education/cte/standardscurr/doc/me_hospitality.doc 8. http://web.helwan.edu.eg/tourism/index.html 9. http://www.alex.edu.eg Alexandria University10. http://www.fayoum.edu.eg/TourismFaculty Fayoum University11. http://www.helwan.edu.eg Helwan University12. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/reports/overseas/bournemouth_cyprus01.asp#26

13. https://mudb.mans.edu.eg/default.asp University of Mansoura14. Information Unit, Annual Statistical Books, Ministry of Higher Education, Seven

Volumes on University and Non-University Education, October, 1999.

15. KEERBERG, Anne and KUBARSEPP, Jakob, Kuressaare College Report of

Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, “Tourism and Catering Management;

Applied Higher Education studies”, Self-evaluation report, August, 2006. PP.42+

16. Statistical Department, Annual Statistical Books, Supreme Council of

Universities, University Education Department Research Center, Seven Volumes,

November 1999.

17. WEHEBA, Dina and A.KADER, Maher, “The Impact of Communication in

Teaching: A Two-Way-communication Approach; A Case Study on Hotel

Department Students, Tourismos, Vol.2, Issue1, Spring 2007. P. 127+

18. World Conference on Higher Education, Higher Education in the Twenty-First

Century: Vision and Action”, UNISCO, Paris, Vol. III, Commissions, Part II,

pp.16-17, Oct., 1998.

19. www.conrad.com

20. www.fourseasons.com

21. www.hilton.com

22. www.ihg.com

23. www.marriotthotels.com

24. www.mohe.com.eg

25. www.oberoi.com 26. www.sofitel.com

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Appendix

Faculty of Tourism and Hotels – Fayoum University

Hotel Department Curriculum:

Second Year:

First Semester:1- Introduction to Food and Beverage2- Fundamentals of Management3- Human Resources and Public Relations4- Introduction to Information Technology5- Fundamentals of Statistics6- Fundamentals of Accounting7- Specialized First Foreign Language8- Specialized Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Food and Beverage Production2- Hotels Economics3- Hotel Statistics4- Materials Purchasing and Storing5- Applications of Information Technology in Hotels6- Cost Accounting in Hotels

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7- Specialized First Foreign Language8- Specialized Second Foreign Language

Third Year:

First Semester:1- Hotel Management2- Nutrition and Menu Planning3- Foods and Fast Foods4- Food and Beverage Production5- Crises Management6- Specialized First Foreign Language7- Specialized Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Hotel Management2- Hotel Marketing3- Food Service Management in Organization4- Hotel and Tourism Organizations5- Psychology of the Hotel Client6- Specialized First Foreign Language7- Specialized Second Foreign Language8- Training

Fourth Year:

First Semester:1- Hygiene in Hotel Industry2- Tourism and the Environment3- Managing Events and Conventions4- Hotel Equipment and Fixtures5- Hotel Maintenance and Engineering6- Hotel Architecture and Decoration7- Specialized First Foreign Language8- Specialized Second Foreign Language9- Graduation Project

Second Semester:1- Graduation Project2- Controls in Hotels and Catering3- Protocols and Etiquettes

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4- Tourism and Hotel Legalities5- First Aid6- Modern and Current Egyptian History7- Specialized First Foreign Language8- Specialized Second Foreign Language9- Training

Faculty of Tourism and Hotels - Alexandria University

Hotel Department Curriculum:

Second Year:

First Semester:1- Economics of Tourism and Hotels2- Accounting of Tourism and Hotels3- Management of Hotel Services4- Fundamentals of Food and Nutrition (1)5- Statistics for Tourism and Hotels6- First Foreign Language7- Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Computer and its applications2- Information Technology for Tourism and Hotels3- Fundamentals of Food and Nutrition (2)4- Hygiene and Food Contamination5- Hotel Management6- First Foreign Language7- Second Foreign Language

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Practical Training for two months. (Kitchen and Stores)

Third Year:

First Semester:1- Tourism and Hotels Marketing2- Food and Beverage Management3- Cooking techniques4- Hotels Cost Accounting5- Room service Management6- First Foreign Language7- Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Food and Beverage Control2- Human resources Management3- Front Office Management 4- Hotel Equipment Planning5- Food Menus6- First Foreign Language7- Second Foreign Language

Practical Training for two months. (Service and Front Office)

Fourth Year:

First Semester:1- Tourism and Hotels Legalities2- Restaurant Management3- Mass Catering4- Feasibility Studies for Hotel Projects5- Graduation Project (1)6- First Foreign Language7- Second Foreign Language

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Second Semester:1- Foreign Cuisine2- International Hospitality Management3- Resort Management4- Hospitality Quality Management5- Graduation Project (2)6- Specialized First Foreign Language7- Specialized Second Foreign Language

Practical Training for two months. (Service and Front Office)

Faculty of Tourism and Hotels - Mansoura University

Hotel Department Curriculum:

First Year:

First Semester:1- Fundamentals of Management2- Fundamentals of Statistics3- Computer Basics and Applications (1)4- Introduction to Tourism5- Introduction to Food6- General Geography7- First Foreign Language8- Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Introduction to Hospitality Industry2- Touristic and Leisure Geography3- Food receiving and delivering Basics

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4- Basics of Nutrition5- Fundamentals of Accounting6- Computer Basics and Applications (2)7- First Foreign Language8- Second Foreign Language

Second Year:

First Semester:1- Organization and Management of Hospitality Operations2- Egyptian Environment3- Hygiene4- Food and Beverage Production (1)5- The Art of cooking (1)6- Computer Basics and Applications (3)7- First Foreign Language8- Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Hospitality Statistics2- Food and Beverage Production (2)3- The Art of Restaurant Service (1)4- The Art of cooking (2)5- Hotel Management6- Computer Basics and Applications (4)7- First Foreign Language8- Second Foreign Language

Third Year:

First Semester:1- Tourism and Hotels Legalities2- Front Office Management3- Housekeeping and Decoration4- Hotels Cost Accounting5- Food Menu Planning6- Foods and Fast Food7- First Foreign Language(5)8- Second Foreign Language(5)

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Second Semester:1- Hotel Equipment2- Hospitality Economics 3- Mass Catering 4- The Art of Restaurant Service (2)5- History of Egypt and its Monuments6- Developing Human Resources7- First Foreign Language(6)8- Second Foreign Language(6)Fourth Year:

First Semester:1- Psychology of the Client2- Tourism and the Environment3- Event and Convention Management and Protocol4- Hygiene in Hospitality Industry5- Hospitality Management Agreements6- Feasibility Studies for Hotel Projects7- First Foreign Language8- Second Foreign Language

Second Semester:1- Crises Management2- Spas and Resorts3- Hospitality Environment Management4- Food and Beverage Quality Control5- Hospitality Marketing6- Specialized First Foreign Language7- Specialized Second Foreign Language

Graduation Project

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