Eight higher national diplomas have been launched in the Institute of Tourism Studies prospectus as the school works to offer specialisation in new niches in line with the latest trends in hospitality, executive director Adrian Mamo told The Times Business.

The new programmes focus on hospitality marketing and e-business, hospitality events management, and sport tourism and active leisure, among other disciplines. Previous diplomas in culinary arts, tour guiding, and hotel operations have been upgraded to higher national diplomas. On completion, two of the higher national diplomas allow students to progress to an Honours degree at the University of Malta.

Mr Mamo, himself a former ITS student who was appointed to the role six months ago, said the school was striving to partner the hospitality industry further through course design. In this way, it would offer support to address issues like labour shortage for some roles in the sector.

“We sought to change the programme of studies to be as pro-active as possible in certain areas,” Mr Mamo emphasised. “Up to last October, the ITS programme featured one higher national diploma – in hospitality management. There are nine now. Additionally, the upgraded qualification in hotel operations incorporates a specialisation, with a choice from food and beverage or rooms division. We have tried to inject an ‘education for all opportunities’ philosophy into this prospectus.”

Mr Mamo explained secondary school leavers interested in working in the tourism sector had limited options and were previously only eligible to enrol in the Extended Skills Training Scheme, a two-year apprenticeship programme run in collaboration with the Employment and Training Corporation.

With the introduction of the Foundation Certificate in Hospitality Trades, school leavers will have the opportunity to acquire key competencies and skills to step onto the tourism education ladder. Areas of studies include basic food service, food preparation and production, and housekeeping-related tasks.

Meanwhile, ITS is currently designing the educational framework around the prospectus, and has adopted a three-pronged approach so that sectoral skills, underpinning knowledge, and key competencies are woven into it. The appointment of lecturing staff will follow, and ITS intends to have as many guest speakers as possible visit the school this year.

Mr Mamo and deputy director Rosetta Thornhill, who was appointed last November, were handed a brief to effect significant change at ITS, particularly to the prospectus.

Feedback and proposals from an intensive consultation process, including meetings and workshops with industry, academics, students, and authorities, have been factored into ITS’ new “menu”, as Mr Mamo refers to it.

An upcoming inter-disciplinary module will focus on ‘Dealing with disability in the hospitality field’ following discussions with the Malta Council for Persons with Disability over the past few months.

“ITS offers industry-driven courses, but it is mindful of its role in the local educational system. We need to develop students holistically. Students require sectoral and technical skills but they need to be developed as citizens. We are working to imbue students with soft skills like the right attitude, initiative, and creativity. Two other new modules which will be offered in courses include personal and professional development and environment-friendly measures in hospitality.”

Mr Mamo said changes in the tourism industry and marketing practices are to be reflected in course modules, with the support of international expertise if necessary. The school is also seeking to step up its networking efforts, partly through the Erasmus exchange programmes, and will boost its contacts with other institutions around the world.

A medium-term objective for ITS, which was established in 1988 and currently accommodates 470 full-time and 600 part-time students – including 61 non-nationals – is to offer more degree opportunities for its students, Mr Mamo added.

“We lack degrees in events management and in culinary arts. In two to three years, all students who join ITS, irrelevant of whether they are school leavers or have reached matriculation level, will have the opportunity to obtain a level six qualification. This is just the start.

“For some reason, ITS has earned a reputation for being a catering school. It is much more than that. We offer a wide range of options at all levels leading to management skills and degrees. ITS’ major difference is that there is a great emphasis on practice and skills. From this year, the 12-month internship with an overseas hotel has been reduced to six months to maximise on the learning curve experience.

“In this way, we can offer a six-month internship at diploma level and another six-month internship with a different focus at higher national diploma level.”

Mr Mamo pointed out the 2011-2012 prospectus offered multi entry and exit points so that students were able to obtain qualifications and join the industry’s labour force before continuing their studies if they wished.

Applications for the 2011-2012 programmes close on July 29. Details about the prospectus are available online and on ITS’ Facebook page.

The part-time programmes prospectus will be launched in the next few weeks.

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