A positive, caring and committed approach to work, a justified progression of jobs and careers, involvement in extra-curricular activities, networking and associations, and qualifications clearly indicating learning outcomes, occupational standards and quality assurance were some of the ingredients for successful careers in the tourism industry.
These were highlighted at a recent seminar on the theme 'Qualifications, Skills and Competences for Tomorrow's Tourism Industry' organised for students of the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) by the students' council with the support of the National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE).
Guest speakers from the Malta Qualifications Council (MQC), the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), ITS alumni association, the Institute of Hospitality (IOH) and the Malta Hotel and Restaurants Association (MHRA) also took part in the seminar.
Michelle Seguna from MHRA said that often job applicants do not realise the importance that attitude and personality have during an interview.
An applicant's personality is assessed to trace an 'attitude profile'. Usually, a successful applicant is one whose profile shows a passion for the industry and a sense of involvement and commitment towards work.
Charles Martin from IOH stated that even though education institutions might give the students the right skills, it is the students themselves who had to nurture the right attitude.
He stressed that the tourism industry could not succeed unless its employees adopted a caring approach in their professions. Building a caring attitude had many facets, from having a polished image to being committed.
Karl Grech from MTA said that professionals have to always seek for positive aspects of their work to build a constructive approach in meeting their many daily demands.
He said that although the ITS provided a sound education base, in the world of work, professionals need to be active in networking, follow the news and be part of associations.
Marco Debono from the ITS alumni association encouraged students not to underestimate skills acquired from job experiences, as these help to build up their professional development. He strongly recommended extra-curricular activities saying that these also help students strengthen their skills.
James Calleja from the MQC explained how the EU was implementing a system to ensure that when students obtained qualifications, these were a passport for employability.
He referred to past European efforts to harmonise qualifications, such as the Bologna and Copenhagen processes, which had led to a European Qualifications Framework (EQF). By 2010, all EU countries should have their own qualification framework and this is to be aligned to the EQF by 2012.
Dr Calleja explained how MQC is taking steps to reach these targets and set up the National Qualification Framework (NQF) in Malta. This framework, based on aspects of learning outcomes, occupational standards and quality assurance, should enable local employers, institutions and students to understand qualifications more easily. The ITS was the first institution to sign a protocol with MQC in order to align its qualifications with the NQF.
Ritienne Gauci from the NCHE said Europe's tourism industry needed people with higher qualifications and better skills and competences. She said employees in tomorrow's tourism industry would not just need to keep pace with change; they need to be protagonists and exploiters of change.
Tourism education needs every support possible from tourism industry stakeholders, because education providers face the challenge of having to prepare students for a lifetime of careers, rather than a single career for life.
During a question and answer session chaired by ITS lecturer Henry Mifsud, students asked a series of questions, mostly about recruitment, such as how employers assessed attitude, the validity of pre-screening applicants before an interview, and whether switching of careers was valued in recruitment.
The speakers gave examples of how attitude is screened through specific body language signs and that career switching is valued where there is a justified progression to better professions.