Competency Requirements of Tourism Employees in Selected Establishments in Tourism Travel Distribution Sector, Airline Sector and Accommodation Sector

Abstract

This study investigated the gap between the competency requirements that the Tourism industry imposes among its employees, and the actual training and instruction given by HEIs, in the face of job mismatch cases in the field. The research covered the profile variables of the respondents in terms of sex, age, highest educational attainment, position in the company, years in the service, and most importantly the respective skills required by each of the sectors involved. Among the things that generated curiosity of the researchers were: (a) whether or not the graduates are trained in line with the industry requirement, (b) whether there is a common set of competencies that would surface, (c) and the possibility of revealing sector specific competencies across the three select sectors. Questionnaires were distributed among 15 purposively chosen full scale establishments tourism with 5 participants for every sector. Results revealed that there is a significant difference in competency requirements when grouped according to sector. The research also identified sector-specific competencies and highlighted the employer‘s preference to communication skills. The outcome of this study may shed useful insights on HEI instruction in producing competitive graduates who may hopefully give significant contributions to the industry.