On an enormous whiteboard outside the bustling kitchens of the School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH) at the University of Johannesburg hangs a list of events planned for the coming weeks.
These range from breakfasts and conference lunches to swanky dinners and cocktail parties. The STH, with its bistro, restaurant and conference facilities, acts as both an educational institution, where students study the theory behind tourism and hospitality, and an operational events venue where they get to apply their skills.
Tables groan under the weight of dishes prepared and served mostly by the students: salmon roulade, veg lasagne, roast potato wedges, roasted vegetables and an assortment of mousses and pastries. The aroma of food fills the corridors behind the conference rooms.
With 2010 not far off, the skills required by the tourism and hospitality industry will be drawn from schools like the STH. And South Africa’s performance will depend on what kind of graduates emerge from education institutions in the field.
The demand and supply dynamics are big local development concerns, says STH director Professor Daneel van Lill. He quotes a skills audit for the department of environmental affairs and tourism, presented at an industry colloquium held at the school, which states that in the next three years South Africa will need 8 000 managerial staff in the hospitality and tourism sector.
”The national output in terms of managerial staff is less than 400 graduates a year,” he says.
South Africa will need 24 100 cooks and chefs, 23 500 waiters, 15 000 cleaners and 7 800 cashiers also. Van Lill says the country needs straightforward skills as well as the skills acquired through broader management development programmes. STH’s core business is in the education and training of tourism and hospitality management.
He says the audit showed that 18% of the people in the hospitality industry, about 70% of the total tourism industry, are qualified above NQF level 5 or have a first-year qualification. Van Lill is determined that STH will turn out properly qualified management staff, who will have a good understanding of all levels of the sector.
With the skills that the school provides and the growth of the industry, Van Lill says about 95% of all STH graduates find employment when they enter the market. The sector is vocationally driven, says Van Lill, and people with degrees are rare. But while graduates might start in entry-level positions ”their probability of promotion is much faster when employers realises their value”, he says.
STH has 655 students. The hospitality courses include food and beverage management, accommodation management and culinary studies and nutrition. Tourism courses include development and marketing, cultural tourism and communication in tourism. Students can graduate in their third year with a diploma or go on to complete their fourth-year B-Tech degrees.
Since 2005 the school has produced 178 diploma graduates and eight graduates with degrees.
Despite the push to provide skills, Van Lill says the school aims to produce only 150 graduates a year.
”We have a huge dilemma here, because we need to build capacity, but then we run the risk of becoming a sausage machine,” he says. The school’s focus is to produce better graduates, rather than more graduates.
Abbigail Julius, a second-year professional cookery student, recently completed experiential learning in the kitchens. Now she is spending time on STH’s reception desk. The range of practical experience is something Julius believes will make her a better employee one day.
From second year, hospitality students work at STH or are appointed to external companies to learn the ins and outs of the industry.
”Our course is diverse and it’s really nice to be able to end with a degree,” says Julius. The school’s strong emphasis on management skills equips students so that they can establish their own businesses one day, whether it’s in catering services, hotels or restaurants, she says.
”This industry isn’t for sissies,” says fellow student Steven de Villiers. He says the hours are long. ”But, when you do well, people congratulate you; it’s all about providing excellent services to others.”
Both Julius and De Villiers believe they are getting good grounding in the skills they will require. The fact that they get to keep their tips at the end of a long day is an added bonus.
