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Hospitality graduates are high in demand Corporate sector companies are increasingly appointing hospitality management graduates to senior positions outside of their traditional roles, particularly due to their ability to interface effectively with the public and handle diverse crises, an education expert says.
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n the wake of the pandemic and lockdown measures, the hospitality and service management industry has grown and evolved tremendously, and to paraphrase the famous saying — reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated,” said Candice Adams, academic development manager at The IIE School of Hospitality and Service Management, a brand of ADvTECH, Africa’s largest private education provider. Ms Adams said that in recent years, the definition of hospitality evolved beyond the traditional one of receiving and welcoming guests and visitors and provisioning services in traditional 54 Business Events Africa March 2022
hospitality environments such as hotels and restaurants. “Customer-centricity has evolved, building a whole new perception of what it means to live and work in the ‘hospitality industry’,” she said. “Due to an increase in expectations regarding what constitutes good customer service on the part of the general public, a wide range of companies look for those leaders who have a track record of being able to fulfil the needs and demands of their customers, and a hospitality management background is emerging as just the qualification that encapsulates the diverse
range of skills required to do so.” Ms Adams said that this broadening of the understanding on the part of employers, of the skillset held by hospitality management graduates, is translating into opening an abundance of career opportunities for graduates. “Service management is the new buzz word on the business scene and is destined to become one of the most sought-after skillsets across business sectors as businesses adapt their strategies to differentiate themselves from their local and international competitors following the pandemic and the massive acceleration in globalisation www.businesseventsafrica.com
