29.6.08

The Big Hospitality Staff Crunch

With fears that the boom in the hospitality sector could be shortlived thanks to a severe manpower crunch, the government is now planning to encourage public private partnerships in educational institutions that offer courses related to hospitality and tourism.Rapid increase in the number of hotels, restaurants and airlines has created a huge demand for workers and experts say that the steep shortage of trained manpower is likely to rise further.According to official estimates, the annual demand for graduates trained in the hospitality sector is about 2.13 lakh while the number passing out of government-run institutions is merely around 12,000.The tourism ministry is now keen on encouraging private initiative in educational institutions that are working in the field of hospitality and tourism. “We are in the process of framing guidelines to promote public private partnerships in the sector,” tourism secretary S Banerjee said.
The tourism ministry has also written to the human resource development (HRD) ministry to ease restrictions and recognise institutions that include catering, food and nutrition courses to cope with the burgeoning demand.
The ministry is also keen that schools and colleges should introduce vocational training for children, Banerjee said. According to the ministry’s report, there are 30 institutes of hotel management comprising 21 central institutes and just five state institutes. The number of private institutes is also woefully low at four while 12 food and craft institutions offer specialised courses in hotel management and catering technology.
With the Commonwealth Games slated for 2010, the industry is expected to see an increase in demand for trained personnel in aviation, tourism, hospitality and catering. Besides these, people involved in trade, handicrafts and local art are also likely to benefit.

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