Abstract
Hospitality industry members have an expectation of graduates that are entering the industry to meet knowledge and skills requirements. These individuals start their qualification with a certain level of expectation about the industry. The hospitality industry faces many challenges; one of these is the early career departure of hospitality graduates. For the purpose of this study, graduate preparedness was assessed by identifying how the curriculum at various hospitality institutions has contributed to the students’ preparation and confidence in pursuing a career in the hospitality industry. The expectations of a graduate were identified by various industry members, who highlighted the necessary requirements that prove to be essential in a potential employee. The study applied a mixed method research approach. Quantitative data was collected from third and fourth-year hospitality students, from various South African hospitality institutions, with the use of an online questionnaire to identify their preparedness to enter the industry, post the COVID-19 year, 2020. Qualitative data were collected from hospitality industry managers, each representing a different hotel group within South Africa. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews to identify their expectations of a graduate, if their expectations had changed due to COVID-19, as well as identifying strategies to reduce the gap between graduate preparedness and industry expectations. Both groups of respondents emphasised the importance of work experience before and during the training of the students to ensure that their expectation management is rationalised...