Education, Training, Progression:

1

• Education, Training, Progression
• Key Issues for Tourism, Hospitality and Retail
  Sectors
• Conor Sheehan Pete Odgers
• Tourism, Hospitality and Retail Management
  Curriculum Team University of Brighton

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Session Aims

• Highlight key Tourism, Hospitality and Retail
  (THR) trends and issues and their implications
  for training and education nationally and for SE
  
• Present rationale and objectives underpinning
  Sussex Learning Network (SLN) project
• With your help
• Refine proposed SLN/THR curriculum team
  objectives for 2006-2008 using your feedback as
  key stakeholders

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Service Sector Business Issues and Trends

• Environmental imperatives
• Hospitality Polarization of sector
  luxury-budget continuum
• Retail Supply chain management
• Internet and distribution issues
• Market domination / Corporate Greed Death of the
  corner shop /increased specialisation
• Graduateness and employability
• Changing role of the travel agent from
  salesperson to consultant
• Increased regulation and accountability
• Equality of opportunity/management of diversity

The Centre Aotea Centre, Auckland
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Service Sector Labour and SkillsIssues and
Trends (1)Skills Needs Assessment for the
Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism sector
Final report January 2006 -People 1st

• 182,343 hospitality establishments in UK
• Predominance of small and micro businesses 76
  employ less than 10
• Employs nearly 2m people -83 of workforce is in
  England
• 1/3 of staff are under 25 years old
• Tourism and Hospitality sectors remain the most
  unproductive in the UK
• 40 of vacancies are classified hard to fill
• Labour turnover standard at 30 average at a cost
  of 886M

IMPLICATIONS?
5
Service Sector Labour and SkillsIssues and
Trends (2)

• Lack of competent managers to meet business needs
  and poor management skills cited by employers as
  a significant problem
• Acute skills shortage vacancies for managers (34
  of all vacancies)
• Deficiency in small business management
  capabilities of owner operators
• Key skills identified as deficient amongst
  service sector management applicants
• Customer handling, team working, communication,
  technical and practical, problem solving
• Net requirement of 1,478,000 posts in 2006-2014
  period
• Emerging priorities identified include management
  skills and customer service
• Controversial proposal 1 industry gold
  standard modularized Foundation Degree to be
  funded for management development?

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Regional Specialisations in the SE THLR
industries

• Regional Specializations
• Contract food service providers (twice nat. emp
  av.)
• Visitor attractions
• Hotels.
• Pubs, bars and nightclubs
• Restaurants
• Travel and tourist services (combined)
• In line with national average
• Youth hostels
• Holiday Parks and self catering acc (combined)

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South East FocusTourism, Travel and Retail
Sectors Today

• (25,311 hospitality, leisure, travel and
  tourism establishments in the South East 1.9 M
  employed 15 of all UK Provision
• 67 of these are restaurants or pubs, bars and
  nightclubs.
• 245,431 hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism
  employees.
• Over ¾ of hospitality, leisure, travel and
  tourism establishments employ between 1 and 10
  people.
• Over ¼ of all those working in the People1st
  sector work in restaurants.
• The majority of the hospitality, leisure, travel
  and tourism workforce are female (61 percent).
• Even split between those who work full-time or
  part-time

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South East Tourism, Travel and Retail Sectors
Today

• Nearly 20 of hospitality, leisure, travel and
  tourism workforce are aged 16-19 while a further
  17 are between 20 and 24 years old.
• Occupations
• 46 of workforce work in elementary occupations
  (e.g. kitchen assistants, waiting/bar staff.
• c.234,215 people work in core hospitality,
  leisure, travel and tourism occupations.

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Skills needs and challenges

• Qualification profile
• 13 of the hospitality, leisure, travel and
  tourism workforce do not have any qualifications.
  A further 21 percent are qualified to either
  Level 1 or entry level.
• 29 of the sectors workforce are qualified to
  Level 2 and 24 are qualified to Level 3.
• 13 of people working in the sector hold Level 4
  or higher qualifications.
• (however HTF 2003 training report based on 2002
  data suggests that the highest of (7.8) was in
  Licensed Retail sub-sector?- has overall
  proportion of Level 4 quals risen by 5 in 2
  years?)
• ..See table in next slide.

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National Picture (2002)
Source Warwick Institute for Employment
Research HTF/VT plus training report( 2003)
-compiled using the DFEE, 2002 Labour Force
Survey) www.guidance-research.org//ed-training
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Sussex Tourism, Travel and Retail Sectors Key
issues

• Management skills shortages
• High Labour Turnover (ref.People 1st figures)
• Labour costs constitute up to 50 of operating
  costs
• CSR expectations
• Increased customer knowledge/sharper competition
• Differentiation Imperative driven by intensifying
  competition e.g. Amenity Creep

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Training and Education Issues

• Industry constraints- increased productivity
  requirement
• More flexible provision required
• Management deficits in smaller businesses
• Matching education offer with skill level of jobs
  in sector or enabling job re-design to capitalize
  on more highly skilled workforce
• e.g. increased automation to reduce/remove
  inherently dull repetitive jobs

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Project Objectives (1)

• Comprehensive review of Tourism, Hospitality and
  Retail (THR) education provision within Sussex
  County.
• Establish a curriculum development consultation
  framework between key stakeholders.
• Develop a plan for THR curricula appropriate for
  vocationally based learners
• Investigate a range of appropriate modes of
  delivery for each of the curriculum areas to
  facilitate wider access and improve participation

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Project Objectives (2)

• Facilitate the development of appropriate
  learning programmes in THR management from FE
  level 3 to Masters Degree level
• NVQ 3/Access/AVCE/BTEC National Diploma
• Foundation Degrees
• Other undergraduate programmes including BA
  top-up courses
• Postgraduate courses
• Prioritize particular areas and levels of
  provision e.g. HE Level 0 and Level 1

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Project Objectives (3)

• Develop an accessible and comprehensive bank of
  information on all existing and planned
  provision.
• Critically review the careers advisory service
  provision and make recommendations for its
  development.
• Examine students needs to ensure that provision
  is underpinned by the ethos of widening
  participation and equality of opportunity

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Project Objectives (4)

• Guide providers on the development of appropriate
  resources to support learning.
• Advise centres on the implementation of the
  validating institutions quality assurance
  requirements.
• Develop progression accords between institutions
  offering THR management programmes at the various
  levels

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The Way Forward What do you think?

• Delegate discussion to address following
  questions on SLN project objectives for each
  sector (Tourism, Hospitality, Retail)
• In general terms, which objectives appear most
  relevant to each respective sector?
• Which additional sectoral trends (not identified
  in the presentation) should also inform the
  project objectives?
• Are there any additional objectives that would be
  appropriate for this SLN project?
• Do you have any views on the most suitable
  approaches to implementation of these objectives?
• What barriers to implementation would you
  anticipate and how would you suggest these be
  addressed?

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• Thank you for attending and for your valuable
  feedback! Please contact us if have any further
  ideas.
• Pete Odgers (p.odgers_at_brighton.ac.uk)
  01273-643667
• Conor Sheehan (c.sheehan_at_brighton.ac.uk)
  0207-8028376
• Tourism, Hospitality and Retail Management
  Curriculum Team University of Brighton