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The Omani Tourism and Hospitality Education –

Employment Dilemma

Tamer Mohamed Atef,

Tourism Department,

College of Arts and Social Sciences,

Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman.

Hotel Studies Department,

Faculty of Tourism and Hotels,

University of Sadat City, Egypt.

Masooma Al-Balushi,

Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

_____________________________________________________________________

Abstract

Tourism and Hospitality education provides graduates with the diverse range of skills and

qualifications required to pursue a successful career in the field. Employment indicators in

the Sultanate of Oman show that few graduates join the Tourism and Hospitality job market,

resulting in a shortage of Omanis in the field. The major drawback of this trend is the

inability to achieve the localization (Omanization) planned figures. The present study aimed

to assess receptiveness for Tourism and Hospitality as a career path among students in the

Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University (College of Arts and Social Sciences),

located in the Sultanate of Oman. The following objectives were identified to achieve this

aim: Assess respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality employment, Assess

respondents’ tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors, Assess respondents’

perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs. A self-administered questionnaire was used to

measure the tourism department students’ perceptions of the subject under investigation. The

study findings are intended to assist tourism and hospitality educators, employers, and

policymakers better understand students’ future employment intentions.

___________________________________________________________________________

Key Words: Oman, Tourism, Hospitality, Education, Career Path, Employment





1. Introduction

The education system in Oman is divided into three main levels: preschool, basic and

secondary education, and higher education. Basic education consists of twelve years of formal

study. After completing grade twelve, a student can join one of the higher education institutes

by applying online to the Higher Education Admission Centre (HEAC), which is responsible

for ensuring that all students are fairly treated and are given the best available opportunities,

based on their preferences and achievement in high school (Al-Ghassani, 2010).

There are currently eight education and training institutions providing tourism related

programmes in Oman (UNWTO and MOT, 2011):

Sultan Qaboos University

Colleges of Higher Education

Oman Tourism College

German University of Technology in Oman

Gulf College

Majan College

National Hospitality Institute

Khimji Training Institute

Sultan Qaboos University, the Colleges of Higher Education, Oman Tourism College,

German University of Technology in Oman, Gulf College and Majan College provide

Bachelor of Arts degree qualifications, whereas the National Hospitality Institute and Khimji

Training Institute provide vocational training. Oman Tourism College is the only institution in

the Sultanate that provides both university-level educational courses and vocational training

programmes. Sultan Qaboos University runs as an independent institution and the Minster of

Higher Education is the chairman of the university council (UNWTO and MOT, 2011).

The tourism and hospitality industry worldwide has been confronted with the problem of

attracting and retaining quality employees. The sector is characterized by relatively high

levels of labor turnover. Researches additionally have shown that tourism and hospitality

students are pessimistic about their careers.

The importance of a well-educated, well-trained, skilled, enthusiastic and committed

workforce cannot be underestimated, particularly for the tourism and hospitality industry. The

development of tourism and hospitality education in a given country is closely related to the

dynamics of its tourist market and the progressive nature of its community.





The present study aimed to assess receptiveness for Tourism and Hospitality as a career

path among students in the Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University (College of Arts

and Social Sciences), located in the Sultanate of Oman. The following objectives were

identified to achieve this aim:

Assess respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality employment

Assess respondents’ tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors

Assess respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs

2. Literature Review

The development of tourism and hospitality degree programs went through stages: In the

1970s the progress was slow, followed by accelerated progress in the 1980s, and significant

development since the 1990s till now (Breakey and Smith, 2008a).

Copper et al. (1994) explained that the study of tourism developed as an academic subject

in three distinct waves. The first wave included specific training related to the travel sector.

The second wave incorporated courses in business, and the third wave incorporated traditional

subjects such as geography, sociology, and linguistics. Airey and Tribe (2000) noted that a

vocational orientation remains at the core of the tourism and hospitality management

curriculum, despite the evolution in course titles and widening conceptual framework that has

occurred within recent years.

The tourism and hospitality management education is a branch of the overall tourism and

hospitality industry that is dedicated to preparing students for management positions within

the industry. Specifically, tourism and hospitality management education is multidisciplinary

and incorporates and applies perspectives from social sciences and other fields (Riegel, 1995;

Marković, 2006).

Meeting the ever changing demands of the tourism and hospitality industry is the biggest

challenge faced by educational institution as well as educators (Okeiyi et al., 1994; Dopson

and Tas, 2004; Gursoy and Swanger, 2005).

Many tourism employers perceive that students are unprepared to assume a place in the

workforce. In turn, employers have called upon educational programs to produce more

employable graduates that possess stronger skills that are immediately transferable to the

workplace (Kember and Leung, 2005; Barrie, 2006; Mohinder, 2008). Consequently, tourism

and hospitality education is striving to provide graduates with the necessary competencies and

skills needed by the job market, those competencies and skills might be technical required to

do specific jobs (e.g., housekeeping, cooking), or managerial that are required for higher level

jobs (Millar et al., 2008).

Unfortunately, the tourism and hospitality sector has a poor image in the eyes of students,

which suggests that the industry may have difficulty attracting, recruiting, and retaining





quality workers. Several studies found that large numbers of tourism and hospitality

management graduates are pessimistic about tourism careers due to low job satisfaction, poor

employment conditions and absence of motivating factors (Zacerelli, 1985; Pavesic and

Brymer, 1990; Doherty et al., 2001; Jenkins, 2001). Consequently, only a small number of

tourism and hospitality graduates pursue the industry upon graduation and a high percentage

choose to work in other industries (Kusluvan and Kusluvan, 2000; Walmsley, 2004; Gu et al.,

2007).

Graduates who are well educated, well trained, and highly skilled are rare in today’s

tourism and hospitality job market (McKercher et al., 1995; Canny, 2002; King et al., 2003;

Ng and Burke, 2006). This problem is evident around the globe. In China, industry

stakeholders are facing a supply and demand problem (Wu, 2004). The increasing number of

hospitality management graduates from high-ranking universities has not reflected positively

on the industry employment barometer. The fact is that few graduates are willing to commit

to hospitality related jobs (Song and Wang, 2008; Zeng and Peng, 2008). Many Australian

students choose to study tourism and hospitality, but are reluctant to join the industry work

force. They see that the industry will not offer them what they are looking for in a future

career path (Richardson, 2009).

Researchers have studied the impact of internship programs on commitment to a career in

tourism and hospitality (Lam and Ching, 2007; Richardson, 2009). An internship is an

experiential learning model where students have an opportunity to apply learned theories in

real world and/or practical situations. Often, internships are associated with an extended

period of practical work placement, ranging from several weeks to a year or more, taken in

one or multiple placements (Lam and Ching, 2007; Chang and Chu, 2009; Yiu and Law,

2012). As Breakey et al. (2008b) pointed out, internships can help students enter the labor

market being industry ready. Solnet et al. (2007) mentioned that internships can give students

a sneak-peek at a potential future work prospect. Tourism and hospitality courses at

universities place increasingly greater importance on practical training and developing

efficient and effective internship programs for students (Koc et al., 2014).

Although practical experience is important, poor experiences can do more harm than

good for students. Researchers who have studied the perceptions of undergraduate tourism

and hospitality management students have found that students without work experience had

neither a favorable nor an unfavorable perception of tourism and hospitality careers. More

importantly, students who completed internship and related work experiences in college had

negative perceptions when they experienced irregular working hours, lacked job security,

received low pay, and lacked development opportunities (Casado, 1992; Roney and Öztin,

2007; Lu and Adler, 2009). Other researchers show that successful internship practices





enhance the interns’ intentions to pursue hospitality careers upon their graduation (Busby,

2003; Jauhari and Manaktola, 2006; Chen and Shen, 2012).

Studies have determined that unrealistic career expectations can quickly cause issues for

students and their employers (Garavan and Morley, 1997; Richardson, 2009). Accordingly,

universities have a major role to play in structuring graduates’ expectations of the work they

can expect to perform, their pay and promotion prospects, and the degree of freedom and

discretion they may have within an organization.

A second round of expectation setting occurs during the recruitment phase (typically

during the last phase of a student’s education). At this time, employers make implicit and

explicit promises about possible employment in their organizations and the conditions of that

employment. These promises begin to create the psychological contract that shapes the

employee’s experiences (Anderson and Schalk, 1998). Some researchers argue that violation

of the psychological contract can lead to quitting (Robinson and Roussseau, 1994; Robinson,

1996).

These issues may be alleviated if employers in the tourism and hospitality industry seek

to discover students’ (and prospective employees’) interests, abilities, career values, and

needs. In doing so, employers may create competitive advantages due to how they attract,

recruit, and develop human capital (Baum, 2007). Many hospitality organizations collaborate

with colleges and universities to recruit managerial talents (Goodman and Sprague, 1991;

Jayawardena, 2001; Tepeci and Wildes, 2002; Swanger and Gursoy, 2007). For example, The

Intercontinental Hotels Group collaborates with educational providers and community groups

to help local people build their hospitality skills and improve their employability

(Intercontinental Hotels Group, 2016).

Pang (2011) additionally identified the following factors that may entice students to join and

stay in the tourism and hospitality industry:

Teachers’ knowledge, perception and outlook of the industry

Curriculum, academic (classroom-based, guest speakers) or field based (i.e. site

inspections, field trips)

Internship programs and strong links to the industry

Appropriate facilities and resources: the offering of computer-aided hospitality

related programs, actual restaurants, mock-up hotel rooms and hotels

Reputation of the education organization

Without the students’ devotion and positive attitude towards the industry; there will

continue to be a disequilibrium of tourism and hospitality manpower supply and demand

(Blomme et al., 2009).

3. Background





3.1 Omanization (Localization) Policy

The Omanization (Localization) policy has been in effect with Oman since 1988, with the

aim of “Omanizing” the jobs by replacing expatriates with trained Omani personnel.

Omanization is a campaign meant not only to ensure jobs for each citizen but also to reduce

dependence on expatriates in search of self-reliance in human resources. In recent years, this

initiative has become a top priority for the Omani government (Ministry of Information,

2002). Similar labour market nationalization policies are used in effect in the Gulf region,

including the Emiratization policy in the UAE and the Saudization policy in Saudi Arabia.

The tourism and hospitality sector has made some progress but has not achieved the

desired levels of Omanization (see Table 1; Omani Ministry of Manpower, 2009; UNWTO

and MOT, 2011).

Table 1: Tourism and Hospitality Omanisation Targets

Sector

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Target

(%)

Target

(%)

Target

(%)

Target

(%)

Target

(%)

Achieved level

(%)

Airlines 81 84 86 88 90 60

Tourist Restaurants 55 65 75 85 90 36

Travel Agencies 55 65 75 85 95 50

Hotels (3-5 stars) 65 70 75 80 85 48

Car Rental

Companies 65 75 80 85 90 53

Adapted from: Omani Ministry of Manpower (2009); UNWTO and MOT (2011)

Looking to the future, Oman could face a labor issue due to its rapidly expanding

economic activity. The demand for labor may be much higher than the domestic supply.

Therefore, it remains to be seen how successful Omanization will be (Gokhale, 2004).

4. Methodology

A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data and measure respondents’

perceptions of the subject under investigation. Survey questions were developed from the

literature reviewed which provided the framework for the questionnaire. The questionnaire

comprises four different question categories:

1. General information

2. Students general perception of tourism and hospitality employment

3. Tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors

4. Students perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs

The questionnaire was distributed in spring 2015 on the tourism department students

(Approximately 165 student). Of the 120 total questionnaires distributed, 88 were returned

achieving a 73% response rate.





Data were tested for normality of distribution then means and standard deviations were

used for data description and ranking; thereafter analysis of variance (ANOVA) was

conducted to test for significance between groups of respondents. The level of significance

used was p≤0.05.

5. Results and Discussion

5.1 General Information

At the time being, students registering in the Tourism undergraduate program study for

four years (eight semesters). The department undergraduate academic plan is composed of

120 credit hours. All students registering in the department should study the major

requirements courses, which include 12 courses (34 credit hours) regardless of their specific

specialization. Students usually receive these courses during their first four semesters in the

department.

After finishing their initial four semesters, students will then proceed toward receiving the

specialization requirements courses, which include 12 courses (36 credit hours) in one of the

department specializations (Tourism Management and Hospitality Management) for four

semesters. To complete their study plans, students choose two courses to study from the

Department Electives courses list.

As shown in Table 2, respondents represent three student categories: general, tourism

management, and hospitality management.

Table 2: General Information Students Number %

Specialization

Hospitality 29 33

Tourism 41 46.5

General 18 20.5

Total 88 100

Gender

Male 29 33

Female 59 67

Total 88 100

The tourism management specialization has received the highest enrolment figures since

the inception of the department. The hospitality management specialization started under the

name of hotel management and, in 2007, changed to hospitality management due to societal

issues. Hospitality in Arab culture is an indication of generosity, good manners, and well-

being, whereas the word hotel is correlated to bar patronage and ill freedom acts. Table 1

shows that the highest Omanization percentage was achieved in Airlines sector and the lowest

was in hotels and restaurants sectors:

Airlines : 60 %

Car Rental Companies : 53 %

Travel Agencies : 50 %





Hotels (3-5 stars) : 48 %

Tourist Restaurants : 36 %

The tourism undergraduate program started in 2001 with three specializations:

Tourism management

Hotel (hospitality) management

Tourism guidance

The tourism guidance specialization continued until 2007 when it was closed for lack of

enrolees.

5.2 Students General Perception of Tourism and Hospitality Employment

Nearly 41% of students will continue working in tourism and hospitality for some time

(see Table 3). For these students, tourism and hospitality is just a step on the way, but is not a

career path. Only 21.6% are willing to consider tourism and hospitality as their chosen career

path. This finding is consistent with past research, which found that only a small number of

tourism and hospitality graduates pursue the industry upon graduation and a high percentage

choose to work in other industries (Kusluvan and Kusluvan, 2000; Walmsley, 2004; Gu et al.,

2007).

Table 3: Students Employment Perception (General)

Frequency Percentage

Tourism as a Career

Continue 19 21.6%

Sometime 36 40.9%

Undecided 33 37.5%

Total 88 100%

Further analysis of those who chose tourism and hospitality as their career path indicates

that 53% are the students who have not chosen their specialization yet, followed by 47% for

the hospitality management students (see Table 4). The tourism management specialization

students were not represented in this category. Within specializations analysis shows that

55.6% (10 out of 18 students) of the general category will continue in tourism and hospitality,

whereas only 31% (9 out of 29 students) of the hospitality management student will do so.

Table 4: Students Employment Perception (Specialization - Gender)

Continue Sometime Undecided

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Specialization

Hospitality 9 47.4% 8 22.2% 12 36.4%

Tourism 0 0% 20 55.6% 21 63.6%

General 10 52.6% 8 22.2% 0 0%

Total 19 100% 36 100% 33 100%

Gender Male 5 26.3% 12 33.3% 12 36.4%

Female 14 73.7% 24 66.7% 21 63.6%

Total 19 100% 36 100% 33 100%





The tourism department study plan requires students to pass two internship courses

(Internship 1 and 2). In Internship 1 students receive basic training in selected entry-level

positions consistent with their career preference. In Internship 2 students receive basic

training in selected supervisory positions consistent with their career preference.

As seen in Table 5, almost 79% of the continue category are internship1 completed

students, while 61% of the undecided category are internship2 completed students. This

finding is in accordance with the literature in that students without work experience have

neither a favorable nor an unfavorable perception of tourism and hospitality careers (Casado,

1992; Roney and Öztin, 2007; Lu and Adler, 2009)

Table 5: Students Employment Perception (Internship Level) Continue Sometime Undecided

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Internship 1 15 78.9% 22 61.1% 13 39.4%

Internship 2 4 21.1% 14 38.9% 20 60.6%

Total 19 100% 36 100% 33 100%

5.3 Tourism and Hospitality Employment Commitment Factors

In order to understand the factors that shape commitment to a career path in tourism and

hospitality, respondents were asked to state their opinions regarding six statements on a five-

point Likert scale.

Respondents generally agreed that the number one motivator to commit to a career in

tourism and hospitality was the encouraging working conditions. This ranking contrasts from

past researches that stated that large numbers of tourism and hospitality management

graduates are pessimistic about tourism careers due to low job satisfaction, poor employment

conditions and absence of motivating factors (Zacerelli, 1985; Pavesic and Brymer, 1990;

Doherty et al., 2001; Jenkins, 2001). This contradiction could be due to several reasons. First,

the strong connections that the Tourism Department has achieved with the external

stakeholders and the various employment events that exposed the students to the industry and

work conditions may have helped allay negative perceptions. Second, Omanization plans may

have dictated demand for Omani manpower that is higher than the supply, which may have

led employers to improve employment terms and conditions (salaries and other fringe

benefits) to attract candidates. Third, most tourism and hospitality employers offer

supervisory and managerial posts to graduates along with qualifying management training.

Respondents placed tourism and hospitality related jobs image in the last rank.

Hospitality management specialization and male students agreed to this same ranking.

However, tourism management students, general students, and female students placed

“Working in tourism suites my personality” in the last position (see Table 6).

Table 6: Tourism and Hospitality Employment Commitment Factors Ranking

(Overall - Specialization - Gender)





Factors Overall

Specialization Gender

Hospitality

Management

Tourism

Management General Male Female

Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank

Work conditions are

encouraging 4.86 1 4.59 1 5.00 1 5.00 1 4.72 1 4.93 1

Income is appropriate 4.45 2 4.41 2= 4.49 2 4.44 2 4.55 2 4.40 2=

Working in tourism

suites my education 3.93 3 4.45 2= 3.49 3= 4.11 3 3.90 4 3.95 3

My family is proud of

my tourism career

path

3.67 4 3.72 5 3.49 3= 4.00 4= 3.72 5 3.64 4=

Working in tourism

suites my personality 3.63 5 4.31 4 2.98 6 4.00 4= 4.17 3 3.36 6

Tourism related

professions are highly

respected by the

society

3.58 6 3.45 6 3.49 3= 4.00 4= 3.45 6 3.64 4=

Note: 1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly Agree

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed some significant differences for Tourism

and Hospitality Employment Commitment Factors based on gender and specialization.

Differences were significant at a level of p≤0.05 (see Table 7).

Table 7: Tourism and Hospitality Employment Commitment Factors Analysis of Variance

(Gender - Specialization)

Factors Gender Specialization

Significance

Work conditions are encouraging 0.007 ns 0.000 s

Income is appropriate 0.204 ns 0.830 ns

Working in tourism suites my education 0.781 ns 0.000 s

Working in tourism suites my personality 0.000 s 0.000 s

My family is proud of my tourism career path 0.458 ns 0.000 s

Tourism related professions are highly

respected by the society 0.190 ns 0.008 s

Note: s=significant, ns=not significant

In general, it could be said that the six Tourism and Hospitality Employment

Commitment Factors represent four major categories as follows:

1. Industry

Work conditions are encouraging

Income is appropriate

2. Personality

Working in tourism suites my personality

3. Education

Working in tourism suites my education

4. Society

Tourism related professions are highly respected by the society

My family is proud of my tourism career path

5.4 Students Perceptions of Tourism and Hospitality Jobs

Respondents were asked to indicate the suitability of some tourism and hospitality jobs to

them on a five point Likert scale. Jobs are presented in rank order in Table 8.

Table 8: Tourism and Hospitality Jobs Perceptions (Overall - Gender - Specialization)

Overall Male Female Job Hospitality Tourism General





Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank

2.18 14 2.17 14 2.20 12= Chef 2.14 12= 2.50 8= 2.00 15

2.82 8 2.83 9 2.80 5= Concierge 2.43 10= 3.00 4= 4.11 2=

2.09 15 1.67 15 2.60 8= Dishwasher 1.57 15 3.00 4= 3.22 8

2.64 9= 2.67 10 2.60 8= Flight Attendant 2.57 9 2.50 8= 3.11 9=

2.55 11 2.33 12= 2.80 5= Host and Hostess 2.43 10= 3.00 4= 2.67 13=

4.27 1 4.33 1 4.20 3 Hotel Department Head 4.57 1 3.00 4= 4.56 1

3.09 5 3.50 3 2.60 8= Hotel Front Office Clerk 3.14 4 2.00 13= 4.11 2=

2.64 9= 3.17 6= 2.00 14= Housekeeper 2.71 8 2.00 13= 3.11 9=

2.27 12= 2.50 11

2.00 14= Laundry and Dry-Cleaning

Worker 2.14 12= 2.00 13= 3.11 9=

4.18 2 3.83 2

4.60 1 Meeting, Convention, and

Event Planner 4.29 2 4.00 1= 4.11 2=

3.82 3 3.33 4= 4.40 2 Restaurant Manager 3.86 3 3.50 3 4.11 2=

3.36 4 3.33 4= 3.40 4 Ticket Agent / Travel Clerk 3.00 5= 4.00 1= 4.11 2=

3.00 6 3.17 6= 2.80 5= Tour Guide 2.86 7 2.50 8= 4.11 2=

2.91 7 3.17 6= 2.60 8= Transportation Attendant 3.00 5= 2.50 8= 3.11 9=

2.27 12= 2.33 12= 2.20 12= Waiter and Waitress 2.14 12= 2.50 8= 2.67 13=

Note: 1= Definitely Suitable, 2= Suitable, 3= Neither Suitable nor Unsuitable, 4= Unsuitable, 5= Definitely Unsuitable

Overall, the most preferred job was hotel department head, a managerial level position,

and the least preferred job was dishwasher. This is not surprising for tourism and hospitality

management students, who were developing their skills and competencies specifically for

management positions in the industry.

General students had not reached the specialization choice yet, which explains why

several jobs are placed at the same rank for them. This indicates they still lack deep

understanding of tourism and hospitality related jobs. Female students placed the jobs that are

generally perceived as feminine in the last place and reported Meeting, Convention, and

Event Planner as their top choice.

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed some significant differences for Tourism

and Hospitality Jobs Preferences based on gender and specialization. Differences were

significant at a level of p≤0.05 (see Table 9).

Table 9: Tourism and Hospitality Jobs Preferences Analysis of Variance

(Gender - Specialization)

Job Gender Specialization

Significance

Chef 0.142 ns 0.001 s

Concierge 0.251 ns 0.000 s

Dishwasher 0.000 s 0.000 s

Flight Attendant 0.435 ns 0.021 s

Host and Hostess 0.000 s 0.020 s

Hotel Department Head 0.006 s 0.000 s

Hotel Front Office Clerk 0.000 s 0.000 s

Housekeeper 0.000 s 0.000 s

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Worker 0.337 ns 0.001 s

Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner 0.000 s 0.182 ns

Restaurant Manager 0.007 s 0.053 ns

Ticket Agent / Travel Clerk 0.002 s 0.000 s

Tour Guide 0.162 ns 0.000 s

Transportation Attendant 0.077 ns 0.003 s

Waiter and Waitress 0.049 s 0.126 ns Note: s=significant, ns=not significant

6. Conclusions and Recommendations





6.1 Conclusions

The study revealed that nearly 41% of the students will continue working in tourism and

hospitality for some time. For them, working in the industry is a step on the way, but is not a

career path: Only 21.6% are willing to consider tourism and hospitality as their long-term,

chosen career path. Tourism and hospitality students’ perceptions of the industry tend to be

negatively affected as they progress in their study plan.

It was generally agreed that the top motivator to commit to a career in tourism and

hospitality was the encouraging working conditions, whereas the least motivating factor was

the jobs image in tourism and hospitality. Commitment to employment in Tourism and

Hospitality is shaped by four major interrelated factor categories:

1. Industry

2. Personality

3. Education

4. Society

The most preferred jobs by all categories were:

Hotel department head

Meeting, convention, and event planner

Ticket agent / travel clerk

While the least preferred jobs by all categories were:

Dishwasher

Housekeeper

Laundry and dry-cleaning worker

Chef

Hotel front office clerk

Very few graduates join the Tourism and Hospitality job market, leading to shortages in

Omani workers in the industry. The major drawback of such trend is the inability to achieve

the Omanization planned figures.

6.2 Recommendations

The following recommendations are offered based on the study findings:

Offering a students’ orientation period and an induction seminar to present the

Tourism Department specializations and employment prospects. The orientation

should provide candidates with information about possible study plans and job market

opportunities. An entrance exam also should be included in the process to be able to

select only those candidates with real commitment to the tourism and hospitality

field.





Maintaining strong connections with the industry through membership of Ministry of

Tourism officials and industry leaders in the Tourism Department advisory

committee, and through the organization of employment fairs.

Involving industry affiliates in teaching and as guest speakers. This tactic would keep

academic staff and curriculum in touch with current and future industry trends, on the

other hand would increase the students’ exposure to the industry and employment

market.

Getting out of the traditional tourism and hospitality nomenclature box by reframing

unattractive courses and specializations with more marketable and attractive names

that describe the new employment environment needs and allow students to gain a

competitive advantage in being employed in other industries. This should diversify

their employment prospects and alternatives.

Tackling the problem of poor industry image in the community by establishing a

holding company responsible for job placement. This company should be affiliated

with the Ministry of Tourism and outsources the required qualified manpower to the

tourism and hospitality institutions. Establishing a cooperative relationship between

the Ministry, employees, and tourism and hospitality institutions could solve many of

the industry image and employment issues.

Closely planning and conducting practical trainings and internship programs.

Internships should be based on clearly defined criteria and steps and should be

collaborated between the academic institution and the industry affiliates. Continuous

feedback should be sought to keep the internship experience as fruitful and positive as

possible to all involved parties.

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Documents

The Omani Tourism and Hospitality Education-Employment …globalbizresearch.org/IAR16_Vietnam_Conference_2016_Aug/docs/d… · Tamer Mohamed Atef, Tourism Department, College of Arts