Perception of tourism graduates and the tourism industry on the important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry
- Authors: Wakelin-Theron, Nicola , Ukpere, Wilfred I. , Spowart, Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Important knowledge and skills , Tourism industry , Graduates
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/279706 , uj:30042 , Citation: Wakelin-Theron, N., Ukpere, W.I. & Spowart, J. 2018. Perception of tourism graduates and the tourism industry on the important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7(4):1-18. , ISSN: 2223-814X
- Description: Abstract: Higher education institutions (HEIs) are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attributes that would make them employable and highly versatile in various tourism sectors. This means that the various qualifications in tourism that are awarded by HEIs should reflect the tourism industry’s needs and expectations. Consequently, it is important to identify the kind of knowledge skills that need to be developed in tourism graduates to prepare them for the working world. The purpose of this article is to identify the perceptions of tourism graduates and the tourism industry on the important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry. The research adopted a sequential explanatory mixed method, which entailed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. However the findings, both from the quantitative and qualitative phases highlight the important knowledge and skills required. In terms of important knowledge and skill, both parties seem to be at par in their perception. The study found that the most important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry are customer service/awareness, ethical conduct at work, verbal communication, acceptance of responsibility, attention to detail, ability to work under pressure, time management skills, and motivation. Significant differences existed between the perceptions of tourism graduates and those of the tourism industry regarding professional, operational, knowledge and skills attributes. However, no significant differences existed between the perceptions of tourism graduates and those of the tourism industry regarding personality traits. This paper is hopefully useful for the development of important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry. As such it has meaning for higher education institutions that offer tourism qualifications as well as the tourism industry who employs tourism graduates. This paper is original, as the study contributes to the body of knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry since no other paper as far as could be assessed, has taken up the topic of the perception of tourism graduates and the tourism industry on the important knowledge and skills required in the tourism industry in South Africa.
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Building blocks for a well-rounded tourism student
- Authors: Wakelin-Theron, Nicola
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Learning practices , Higher education institutions , Tourism
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/256980 , uj:26987 , Citation: Wakelin-Theron, N. 2017. Building blocks for a well-rounded tourism student.
- Description: Abstract: This study was conducted to identify the building blocks that need to be incorporated in tourism qualifications to produce well-rounded students. This study is grounded on the view that with the right set of knowledge, skills, and qualification, the doors to tourism employment can be opened. Many higher education institutions have established programmes and extended programmes to negotiate students’ transition into higher education, and beyond. However, these higher education institutions face many challenges, due to the ever increasing student numbers that have nearly doubled in recent years; uneven quality; high student drop-out rate among first-generation students; and more recently, the ‘fees must fall movement’. Despite these challenges, higher education institutions are expected to remain engines for the development of human capital. Indeed, one of the purposes of higher education is to produce graduates who have skills that are highly regarded by employers and that enable these graduates to contribute to the social capital and the country’s prosperity. Thus, the goal of this study is to investigate the existing building blocks, with a particular focus on the building blocks that the School of Tourism and Hospitality, in the Faculty of Management, at the University of Johannesburg uses to assist students in becoming well-rounded in relation to the tourism industry.
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Illustrating the perception of students towards autonomous service robots in the tourism industry : an exploratory study
- Authors: Wakelin-Theron, Nicola
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: Autonomous robots , Tourism industry , Drawings
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/482381 , uj:43741 , Citation: Wakelin-Theron, N. 2021. Illustrating the perception of students towards autonomous service robots in the tourism industry : an exploratory study. Tourism and Hospitality Management, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 385-406.
- Description: Abstract: Research purpose – The purpose of the study was to explore the students’ perceptions towards autonomous service robots, using interviews and, in a novel manner, also their drawings, to generate data. The paper contributes to current knowledge claims around the Techno-Economic Paradigm by providing a greater understanding of, and student response to, autonomous service robots. Additional insights were gained on transformational skills set for tourism practitioners. Design/Methodology/Approach – A qualitative approach followed a participatory research design which was set in a public higher education institution. Undergraduate tourism and hospitality students who had previous exposure and engagement with robots were the purposive sample. The paper draws on the Techno-Economic Paradigm to illuminate how, according to students’ experiences and perceptions, autonomous robots interact in, and disrupt, the tourism industry. Findings – Four main drawings essentially expressed tourism and hospitality students’ perceptions of autonomous service robots in the tourism industry. Centrally there are opportunities for the absorption of robots in certain sectors of the tourism industry. Despite greater use of robots in service-driven industries like tourism, it remains challenging to establish the right balance between humans and robots, and up- and re-skilling transformation would be required of those working in the tourism industry and those studying towards a tourism qualification. This study advances that additional research is still required, including longitudinal studies on the effects of autonomous services in the tourism industry, as well as students’ perception on the use of robots, re-skilling as well as ethical risks to customers, the greater value to the economy and those working in the tourism industry. Originality of the research – The article contributes to the use of visual methodology as part of data generation, specifically how students’ perceptions regarding autonomous robots in the tourism industry were graphically distilled using this methodology.
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Employability of tourism graduates : a three-way partnership
- Authors: Wakelin-Theron, Nicola
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Tourism - Employees , Industrial relations , Employability
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/291984 , uj:31724
- Description: Ph.D. (Employee Relations) , Abstract: Tourism is one of the fastest-growing, labour-intensive, people-centred industries, and has immense potential. Graduate unemployment, the historical development of the tourism industry, human resource development, tourism education and graduate employability, as well as the nature of South Africa’s economic growth and related constraints within the tourism industry have been widely debated. Consequently, higher education institutions (HEIs) are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attributes that would make them employable and highly versatile in various tourism sectors. This objectives of this study were to establish tourism graduates’ perceptions and the tourism industry’s experience regarding graduates’ employability attributes, as well as to identify the perception of tourism graduates and the tourism industry of the important knowledge and skills required in this industry. In addition, the study aimed to establish how tourism graduates perceive their abilities in terms of knowledge and skills, and how the tourism industry evaluates tourism graduates’ actual abilities. Lastly, the objective was to understand the current practices and perspectives of various HEIs, the tourism industry, and tourism graduates regarding knowledge, skills, and employability attributes. The research adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach, which entailed combining quantitative and qualitative methods (Ivankova et al., 2006). In Phase 1, questionnaires were administered to 561 respondents. In Phase 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants who were purposively selected from tourism graduates working in the tourism industry, tourism academics, and experts from the tourism industry. An interview guide was utilised to direct the interaction to investigate these stakeholders’ perspectives and practices. This study found that the tourism industry’s experience of graduates’ employability attributes differs from the perception of tourism graduates. The tourism industry and...
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