SITE NEWS

The changing face of skills

In the changing world we face, Tes Proos, Site Africa president approached a few members from Higher Education Institutions (HEI) on the current business events qualifications and skills situation in South Africa. The following reflect their personal views and perspectives.

“Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, business events tourism (BET) was recognised as a growing, lucrative segment of South Africa’s tourism industry. This has accelerated the establishment of vocational qualifications that offer related curriculum to address the specialised knowledge and skills for professions in the field. However, Covid-19 has had a significant impact not only on the tourism industry, but also on HEIs that offer BET qualifications. “There are a number of impacts on the academic year brought about by the pandemic,” said Esti Venske, senior lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Exco member Tourism Educators SA.

She added: “Firstly, the late and disruptive school year of 2020 means that there will be severe delays in getting the academic year started and registrations completed as prospective students await their results which are due at the end of February. However, higher education remains optimistic for the future. As far as I could determine, the applications have been steady, but there certainly is concern around the ability for the industry to absorb graduates in the field with so many retrenchments of very skilled and experienced staff who often act as industry mentors for new students entering this dynamic field.

“Secondly, new health and safety protocols, travel restrictions, and digital innovations are changing BET operations, contexts and concepts - we are not sure how prospective students are perceiving the sector, and whether they view it as an exciting or lucrative career choice, especially given the severe economic impact due to the ongoing lockdown, travel and gathering restrictions.

“Lastly, the changing landscape of higher education to a more digital/blended format, along with the fact that students are currently afraid of face-to-face interactions, has an impact on the decision to pursue studies in 2021. The question may be asked, why register at a traditional HE institution if there are other online options available, seeing that there has been a pivot to digital learning platforms. We are yet to see the impact of this heightened level of online competition and, of course, it is important to remember that many of our prospective students do not have access to data and electronic equipment to successfully pursue their studies, so the way bursaries are structured may also have to adapt to include the online/blended modality.”

On the issue of on job training during the shutdown, she said: “Students did online projects, and where possible, experiential opportunities continued. The BET workplace has also moved more online, with job opportunities linked to digital event specialisation/IT/social media (that is above and beyond the new emphasis on safety officers). In this current environment, we have to rethink internships in their present format as they are way more technologically driven as a result of industry mentors working from home. Due to many retrenchments in the sector, another challenge is that in many cases, staff are left performing two jobs with little time to really mentor a student.”

On a positive note, Ms Venske said: “I think that there are new emerging skills which will be required - such as an event safety protocol officer/hybrid event organiser - running a two or three-day conference fully integrating technology. I think job opportunities may be leaning more towards technological savviness. However, some of our key industry practitioners are leaving the sector, taking years of experience, skills and knowledge with them due to the pandemic. In many cases, I imagine that succession planning within companies, as well as knowledge sharing, could pose a substantial problem and create skills gaps within the sector. We do not want to lose our experts and industry champions. But I would like to reiterate that the pandemic has changed much of the familiar industry landscape - it would require upskilling and re-skilling of existing practitioners as well. It is no longer ‘business as usual’, which means it is no longer skills as usual. Knowledge around digital, software and online platforms are becoming more critical. Technical skills related to implementing health and safety protocols, regulations and technology are highlighted and soft skills which demonstrate one’s ability to collaborate and adapt, solve problems innovatively and be flexible are ideal during and post pandemic.”

She concluded: “There is an opportunity in this time of crisis to strengthen and align the skills and competencies required for future BET vocations through collaboration. When industry and academia work together, more responsive curriculum development will be developed and implemented. Low hanging fruits may be virtual master classes which will allow industry to co-create, with academia, an agenda with talking points and content for the Master Class responsive to industry trends such as event safety. It may provide a platform for relevant practical/ contextual understanding. Association membership for students and educational institutions is beneficial as it creates great networking and knowledge sharing platforms. It also benefits educational institutions in identifying skills required and incorporating this into the curriculum. At the moment, technology, health and safety are big drivers in the sector. This means educational institutions need to find a way to incorporate these new skill requirements, through collaboration with industry and training providers who can fine tune what exactly is needed and how it can be integrated as a skill.”

Zakiyya Muruza-Peerun, operations director of The Tourism and Business Institute of Southern Africa (TTBISA), said:

“We have no new student registrations currently. Finding placements for students is virtually impossible with most hotels closed or working with skeleton staff.

“In some instances, we’ve had to perform simulation exercises within the classroom, but in most instances learner’s qualification periods were extended to allow more time for workplace experience. We have had to rotate students to hotels or restaurants which still have some activity.”

She added: “Unfortunately, we are seeing mass retrenchments. As these individuals face unemployment they are currently applying for positions in other sectors. I am not sure if they will be keen to return to hospitality post Covid-19 if they have established another career path. I also know of quite a few general managers, human resource managers and senior personnel looking to emigrate and discovering really good positions internationally.”

Ms Muruza-Peerun, added: “I think more financial support for those being retrenched would have made all the difference. Quite a few personnel I have spoken to feel as if they have been isolated and not received enough support. If you look at the USA, Canada and Europe most hospitality staff have either been furloughed or received quite decent government aid. The National Department of Tourism are working on training interventions to encourage the sign up of retrenched staff, whereby they can earn a living wage and work towards a qualification.”

Nellie Swart, CMP, senior lecturer in tourism (UNISA) and Exco member Tourism Educators SA, said: “Unisa has also made a decision to reduce the number of intakes for 2021, which will also impact our registrations. In the past we could only validate the registration numbers in May, I suspect this will only be done in June/July. Unisa is an ODeL Institution for Higher Learning and has been facilitating online learning before I joined in 2012. We have an annual advisory board meeting, where we consulted with industry to ensure we meet the industry requirements.

Ms Swart added: “Unisa’s students were not affected as much as those at other institutions because of its long track record as an open and distance e-learning university. Online academic support could go ahead because of the university’s e-tutor system and academics offered support by email and cell phones. Conducting online examinations for the first time did, however, offer some challenges to Unisa’s systems.”

Unisa offers a full tourism programme qualification mix (PQM). “Each of these programmes are aligned with the specific exit level outcomes as per the HEQSF requirements to be CHE accredited and have SAQA IDs. For several years, we have been proactive by offering a “work stimulation module” in place of “work integrated learning”. At the 2019 advisory board meeting the industry commended our initiative for pioneering such a module. Our programmes have a strong entrepreneurship baseline, with the aim to empower entrepreneurship in tourism.

“The industry must remember, each programme has a different outcome, and we cannot compare all graduates on the same level. The skills set of a higher certificate student (120 credits) will be different to a student with a BCom degree (360 credits). This does not mean the one is “better” than the other,” Ms Swart said.

In conclusion, she said: “The world of work is changing, and students have to equip themselves with additional skills beyond the formal qualification. There is an array of massive open online courses available where students will be able to learn these additional skills. Students need to take responsibility for their own learning and build a career in the industry they aspire to have. I know of a number of students who have done that.”

The need for formal qualifications is vital, but so is the need for additional skills going forward. The industry is going through rather uncertain times, but as it changes, new opportunities will open. The role of the HEI will become even more important to equip the new generation as well as the current workforce, in this ever changing world.