VOICE OF THE
WORKERS ISSUE 34 August 2014
The Smile, the Skill and the Success
Contents The Service Bell is Ringing
03
The Vital Link
04
Support for Hospitality Industry Training in the EU
06
Training for the Hospitality Industry
07
The Hospitality and Tourism Sector: Business and People
08
Editor’s note josef Vella
Malta is experiencing recordbreaking tourist arrivals. The tourism and hospitality industry is experiencing an activity boom. This sector has always been pivotal for our economy. As it grows even larger, its importance grows with it. Other sectors depend directly or indirectly on this sector, such as transport, supplies, and culture and the arts, to name but a few. In terms of the people element, we really need to be proactive rather than reactive, in that rather than reacting to what is happening now, we need to foresee our requirements in this sector in the longer term. As VOICE OF THE
WORKERS
soon as we identify needs, we need to get cracking in tuning our workers to be prepared for these opportunities. One of the major tools in this sense is training. The tourism and hospitality sectors are experiencing changes as well as challenges, both within the market, as well as in terms of people providing the services. The pool of workers providing services is changing, and so are the demographics. The hospitality industry is a challenging one, and it is vital that the right kind of people with the right skills and attitudes can
develop to be successful. In Malta, the population’s average age is getting higher, and this is also being reflected in different areas of work. Thus the rejuvenation of this sector’s workforce is also a challenge. Malta has been providing students in this sector with both formal and informal training. However, this training is not jsut done through educational institutions, but is done specifically on the job. Moreover, due to significant levels of turnover in some areas, many managers find training as just an expensive and unnecessary tool. This is exerting negative pressure 1