Tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institution. A stakeholder perspective

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF APPENDICES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER ONE
1.2 Background of the study
1.3 Problem Statement
1.4 Objectives of the study
1.5 Research questions
1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Purpose of the study
1.8 Delimitations of the Study
1.9 Limitations of the study
1.10 Methodology
1.11 Definition of terms
1.12 Summary

CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Introduction
2.2 History of tourism and training
2.3 Forms of tourism and education training: A global overview
2.4 Tourism education and training from the developed world
2.5 A review of studies on tourism training from the developing countries
2.6 A study on tourism education and training
2.8 Implications of the literature review
2.9 Summary

CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Rationale for empirical Study
3.3 Research design
3.5 Sampling and sampling procedures
3.5.1 Research Methodology
3.5.2 Target Population
3.5.3 Sampling procedure
3.5.4 Sampling frame
3.6 Sources of data
3.6.1 Primary data
3.6.2 Secondary Data
3.7 Data Collection Methods and Instruments
3.8 Data Validity and Reliability
3.9 Data analysis
3.10 Statement of Research Ethics
3.11 Summary

CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Response rate
Table 4.1 Responses to questionnaires
Table 4.2 Profile on interviewees
4.3 Demographic Characteristics of respondents
Figure 4.1 Responses to questionnaires from students and industry staff
4.4 Perceptions of stakeholders on the strengths of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions
4.5 Perceptions of stakeholders on the weaknesses of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions
4.6 Challenges faced by tourism and hospitality tertiary institutions in delivering tourism training in Botswana
4.8 Aim of tourism and hospitality programmes
Table 4.3 Programme aims
4.9 Strategies that may be adopted in order to improve the quality of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions
4.10 Summary

CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Achievement of objectives
5.3 Summary
5.4 Conclusions
5.5 Recommendations
5.6 Suggestion for future research

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 Responses to questionnaires from students and industry staff

Figure 4.2 Responses to interviews by trainers and management

Figure 4.3 Establishment learners might want to work at by choice

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Responses to questionnaires

Table 4.2 Profile on interviewees

Table 4.3 Programme aims

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDICES A: Interview guide for hospitality and tourism trainers

APPENDIX B: Interview guide for hospitality and tourism students

APPENDIX C: Interview guide for tourism and hospitality industry (managers)

APPENDIX D: Interview guide for tourism and hospitality staff

APPENDIX E: Confirmation letter

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my mother Mrs. Lebonetse Chabongwa and sister Ms. Martha Chabongwa, Kedibonye Chabongwa and Seabe Chabongwa, they have been a source of inspiration from the start to the completion of this academic programme.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people have been instrumental in the realization of this thesis. Special mention goes to my supervisor Dr. Nyahunzvi for the guidance and tireless efforts from the first to the last chapter of the thesis.

My sincere gratitude goes to my colleagues who have provided invaluable assistance and support during the process of compiling this piece of work. I would like to recognize the support from my friend, classmate and colleague Ms. K.N. Bogopa you have been a pillar of Strength.

It is my wish to extend my appreciation to all the organizations and respondents that voluntarily accepted to be part of this research. I would also like to thank my head of department at work Ms. Doreen Moji for supporting me on this study and my colleague Ms. Kessy Moanakwena.

It is a pleasure to express my appreciation to Ms. Gontle Mokgatitswane for advising me on the research.

Finally I am deeply grateful to all those I have not mentioned by names but have contributed significantly to the completion of this dissertation.

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to appraise the tourism and hospitality training in Botswana’s institutions from a stakeholder’s perspective. The stakeholders in this research were limited to the students and trainers/lecturers. The objectives of the study were: to determine stakeholders perceptions on the strengths of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions, to determine stakeholders perceptions on the weaknesses of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions, to determine the challenges faced by tourism and hospitality tertiary institutions with regard to delivering tourism training, to recommend strategies that may be adopted to improve the quality of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions. The purpose of the research was to examine the existing gap between the tourism and hospitality training and tourism manpower needs in Botswana. Current literature evaluation on the hospitality and tourism education and training shows a number of differences for the tourism and hospitality manpower needs especially in developed countries. The study adopted a qualitative technique which involved both students and industry staff filling the questionnaires and also head of departments, trainers and managers were interviewed. Purposive and convenience sampling were used in order to select the participants. Semi-structured interview questions were used in the study as a method of data collection, and the study targeted seventy five students in all the institutions and two lecturers in each institution of four. One head of department in each institution, fifteen industry staff from all the four establishments, two managers from each establishment were interviewed. The study revealed that there is shortage of resources and current training curriculum is negatively impacting the effectiveness of the training institutions. The findings point out those learners is trained with limited resources and therefore some students produced by the institutions are not competent enough to face the labour market. The study recommended among other things to make the curricula more practical and equip trainers with the necessary skills that will give them more opportunity to carry out research. This will enable them to be effective and assist the academic institutions in Botswana in generating quality tourism and hospitality learners to work in the industry for future challenges. It is a pre-requisite of more research on this topic especially in the areas specialisation such as culinary arts and accommodation and reception services in order to see how the skills on the mentioned areas can be improved.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the background to the study. The background outlines the historical development of the tourism and hospitality industry in Botswana. It also outlines the training process of graduates who are in the industry by tertiary institutions in Botswana. Lastly, the chapter presents Problem Statement, Objectives of the Study, Research Questions, Significance of the Study, Delimitations (Scope) of the Study, Limitations of the Study, Definition of Terms and a summary of the chapter.

1.2 Background of the study

The tourism and hospitality industry is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. At the beginning of the 21st century it was regarded as a dependable commodity of economic growth in both developed and developing countries (Boz, 2011). According to Bagri and Babu (2011), tourism education used to be vocational in nature. More than ten decades ago, there were no degree programmes in the tourism and hospitality industry, only post-graduate diploma programmes were offered.

Horng and Lee (2005) pointed out that in the Caribbean countries, tourism and hospitality education started during the early 1970s. During the early the 1980s, the industry began to thrive with plenty of tertiary institutions being established solely to offer students training on tourism and hospitality related programmes (Horng and Lee, 2005). During those days, developed countries such as Taiwan, came up with the concept of separating various units of tourism and hospitality such as hotel, travel and tourism. Later on, other nations such as the United States of America adopted this method to improve their tourism and hospitality education sector (Chang and Hsu, 2010).

Even though scholars such as Donina and Luka (2014) argue that education is considered as the most veritable tool for nation building, Idehan (2007) however contends that tourism and hospitality education is falling short of the customers’ and or the industry’s expectations.

For instance, Nhuta, Makuyana, Makoni and Chauke (2015), in a study on tourism and hospitality that was conducted in Zimbabwe, pointed out that the tourism and hospitality curriculum should be designed such that it allows trainees in the industry opportunities to acquire all the necessary skills and competencies that enable them (graduates) to be employed by both the local market (Zimbabwean tourism industry) and the global market.

However, the findings of these scholars’ (Nhuta et al, 2015), revealed that there is a gap and or a mismatch between the tourism and hospitality curriculum and the industry’s manpower needs which has resulted in a large number of unemployed graduates from the tourism training institutions in Zimbabwe. Nhuta et al (2015) further state that the general tourism curriculum aim is to produce competent graduates with skills and knowledge suitable for the tourism and hospitality industry. But nevertheless, according to these scholars, the above mentioned aim is partially met because the graduates are deemed not to be encompassing all the tourism and hospitality sectors especially the hotel, travel and airline including other tourism service providers.

Bhuwanee (2006) states that even to-date a lot of Sub-Saharan African countries are still striving to redefine efforts to improve technical and vocational education and training (TVET). By developing TVET the aim will be enhancing productivity and competitiveness in the work place more especially in the tourism and hospitality industry. Abban and Quarshie (1996) augment Bhuwanee’s (2006) contention by pointing out that in Africa, the paradigm shift in hands-on practical skills training with technical and vocational education and training is increasingly being refined to be more attractive, effective and efficient. One important concern of technical and vocational education and training as considered by other African governments is its orientation in working towards the world of work with the curriculum focusing on the acquisition of skills demanded by the tourism and hospitality sector.

Maphosa, Madzielwana and Netshifhefhe (2014) stated that despite the fact that a lot of African countries are very much determined to review the tourism and hospitality curriculum, a lot of them have run out of ideas in terms of blending tourism and hospitality education by providing skills required by the tourism industry such as giving learners the exposure of what is happening in the industry. However, despite the challenges encountered by many African countries regarding the tourism and hospitality training, other advanced African countries such as Ghana have managed to come up with initiatives such as internships to ensure that suitable graduates with the right skills and knowledge can be employed in the tourism and hospitality industry.

In South Africa the National Commission for Co-operative Education has embarked on what is referred to as Work Integrated Learning (WIL) which is a strategy for trying to blend theory with practice and the highly productive work experience in an area which is almost similar to students’ academic and vocational objectives (Nicolaides, 2015). The primary purpose of this was to encourage students to have a good vision on the whole process as this strengthened their employability status after completion of the tourism and hospitality courses. Nicolaides (2015) further argued that the National Commission for Co-operative Education came up with the idea of Work Integrated Learning programme since they felt that the tourism and hospitality employers have raised a concern. The WIL was implemented for students graduating from different tertiary institutions in South Africa since they were not competent enough to do the jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. Abomeh (2012) however, contends that in many African countries, some stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry fail to advise the curriculum developers on certain issues such as how the tourism and hospitality curriculum should be designed. In a way any curriculum designed and developed need to accommodate the needs of the tourism and hospitality industry so that expectations of potential employers are taken on board.

Botswana, just like many other African countries, after having realised that the tourism and hospitality industry was an indispensable economy booster, she also adopted the idea of infusing the tourism and hospitality curriculum into the vocational education. According to Mahachi and Shemi (2014), to-date tourism is regarded as the largest economic sector in Botswana. However, Botswana’s tourism industry has always has been faced with challenges and competitions from its neighbouring rivals such as South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe (Mahachi and Shemi, 2014). There was an influx of foreigners from the neighbouring countries who were migrating into the country. A lot of Batswana were greatly disadvantaged due to the fact that the tourism industry targeted the foreign investors in the industry who had better credentials and experience (Manwa, Chipfuva and Mahachi, 2011). The whole situation was aggravated by the fact that since the tourism and hospitality industry was still at its infancy stage, the market was also very thin. Since most of the citizens were semi qualified and lacked hands experience they (Batswana) found themselves fighting a losing battle because the battle field was uneven. Mupimpila and Narayana (2009) alluded that on feeling the competition pressure from its neighbouring countries, as a way of stifling the challenge, Botswana decided to come up with some strategies aimed at intensifying the training of staff members in tourism and hospitality industry.

To tackle this challenge head-on, in 1977 the government of Botswana passed a national policy on education which was advocating for the introduction of vocational and technical training particularly in government owned technical colleges (Manwa, Chipfuwa and Mahachi, 2011). Programmes which were aimed at amassing trainees in the tourism and hospitality industry with relevant competencies and skills were designed and implemented forthwith. However despite the implementation of these programmes, a lot was still lacking on the training of students. There was a mismatch between the skills acquired by the graduates of these technical colleges and the practical skills which were required by the industry.

The mismatch still left some undesired gaps which allowed the competition from the neighbouring countries to promulgate. For instance, Manwa, et al (2011) pointed out that one key element which needed to be tackled in order to prevent the emerging competition from the neighbouring countries was to work towards the improvement of skills, knowledge and the expertise of human resource in the tourism and hospitality industry. To achieve this (the up grading of skills), stakeholders from the tourism and hospitality industry were to form a joint venture with curriculum developers so as to share ideas on how best technical colleges could impart the exact knowledge and practical skills which are required by industry.

Due to the above deliberate discourse between the stakeholders and the curriculum developers, a programme called the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) was initiated. To-date technical colleges in Botswana are duty to implement this programme as a way of equipping lecturers in the tourism and hospitality industry with the relevant knowledge and practical skills so as to elevate their credentials and thus increase their chances of good delivery in imparting knowledge to learners. But nonetheless, the million dollar question which still boggles ones’ mind is that “how much have the technical colleges and other institutions such as the University of Botswana have achieved in terms of producing graduates who are well rounded and possess all the qualities and competencies which can enable them to unequivocally compete for jobs in both the local and international markets?”

1.3 Problem Statement

In Botswana, despite the government’s endeavour in establishing technical colleges and other public institutions, as well as facilitating forums for engaging curriculum developers, stakeholders and many other experts from the field of tourism and hospitality need to collaborate in designing programmes which are tailor made to close down all the deficiencies and the mismatch of skills between what the curriculum offers and what the industry expects, there is still a very big question-mark on the issue of qualifications and the employability of the graduates from Botswana’s tertiary institutions by the industry (tourism and hospitality).

As a lecturer in one of the technical colleges in Botswana offering the tourism and hospitality programmes, it has come to my attention that despite all what has been done to help tertiary institutions to produce graduates who are highly qualified and have all the requisite competencies and skills which can enable them to be employed in the tourism and hospitality industry, the local market is still reluctant to absorb them (graduates from local colleges). A close scrutiny at the statistics of workers in the tourism and hospitality industry in Botswana shows that the number of foreigners working in the industry out-numbers that of the local citizens especially in the culinary arts field. This outnumbering of citizens by foreigners clearly indicates that the industry continues to employ foreigners at the expenses of citizens.

This tendency has resulted in many of the graduates from local institutions spending most of their time loitering around cities looking for any kind of job so to be able put food on their tables despite the fact that there are supposed to be highly qualified and competitive people who could be prolific and very instrumental in the development of the tourism and hospitality industry in Botswana. In fact, Airey (1998), Petrova and Mason (2004) and Ladkin (2005) all concur that a close analysis of the perceptions of major stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry suggest that the tourism industry is still criticising the tourism education for not adequately preparing individuals for employment in the industry.

The rejection of these graduates by the tourism and hospitality industry is a draw back and a very big blow on the part of Botswana government and tertiary institutions endeavour to produce graduates who are competent enough to be absorbed by the local markets and even compete for employment in the global market. This rejection also frustrates the government’s effort to open up employment opportunities for its citizens. Apart from that, it places the government on an awkward position politically and economically since a lot of resources are used on the Tourism and Hospitality training and yet nothing positive has been so far achieved. It is apparently clear that instead, the graduates from the local tertiary institutions are being stigmatised and shunned by the local industry which is clearly the opposite of what the government expected. This motivated the researcher to explore the education of learners in Tourism and Hospitality field.

1.4 Objectives of the study

The study is guided by the following objectives:

1. To determine stakeholders perceptions on the strengths of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions.
2. To determine stakeholders perceptions on the weaknesses of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions.
3. To determine the challenges faced by tourism and hospitality tertiary institutions with regard to delivering tourism training.
4. To recommend strategies that may be adopted to improve the quality of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions.

1.5 Research questions

The study is guided by the following research questions:

1. What are stakeholder’s perceptions on the strengths of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions?
2. What are stakeholder’s perceptions on the weaknesses of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions?
3 . What are the challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality tertiary institutions with regard to delivering tourism training.
4. What strategies may be adopted in order to improve the quality of tourism and hospitality training among Botswana’s tertiary institutions?

1.6 Significance of the study

In Botswana there are many institutions that offer tourism and hospitality courses but it seems their programs are not aligned to what tourism and hospitality industry is expecting (Shariff 2013). The result of this research may contribute to the reviewing and redesigning of the tourism and hospitality curriculum and the methods used for training students through constant and consultative industrial feedback and updates. The continuous feedback would help to make some improvements on employees’ abilities and knowledge. As the study investigated the gaps between tourism industry and tourism education sectors it will also be beneficial to the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism. It will also inform policy makers and other stakeholders on how best to craft the curriculum. The study sought to bridge the gap between institutions and the actual industry by taking the Tourism and Hospitality industry on board when designing the curriculum. It would also create good relations between institutions and the tourism sector. This study shall contribute to available research on technical and vocational education in the field of tourism and hospitality. The government shall benefit from this research as it is going to be an eye opener on how education programs can be revised.

1.7 Purpose of the study

This study sought to undertake an Appraisal of Tourism and Hospitality Training among Botswana’s Tertiary Institution. It examined the inter-relationships and interaction between all stakeholders in the sector of tourism and hospitality.

1.8 Delimitations of the Study

This study was restricted to five institutions, two private institutions (Botho University and Botswana Accountancy College), two government technical colleges (Francistown College of Technical and Vocational Education and Gaborone Technical College) and one public university which is the University of Botswana (UB). The University of Botswana was used in the research because it is the only public institution offering tourism and hospitality in higher education, therefore the researcher wanted to find out whether they are producing what the industry is expecting since their program in the tourism and hospitality is relatively old and the program was introduced in 1999/2000 (Mahachi et al, 2014). Both Botswanna Accountancy College (BAC) and Botho University (BU) their programs are relatively new as they started in 2010, the researcher wanted to find out whether their leaners are fit for the market. As for the technical colleges, the researcher wanted also to establish their graduates’ performance in the industry because they are the only public institutions offering vocational education and teaching hospitality operations and travel and tourism programs with their students engaged in hands on practical. The tourism and the hospitality program in the technical colleges is old as it started in 1977 as stated in the write up from (Mupimpila & Narayana, 2009). In addition the technical colleges are the only public institutions offering vocational qualifications up to diploma level.

1.9 Limitations of the study

The following are the limitations of this dissertation. The possibility of financial constraints due to the costs of data collection from the research sites might affect the quantity and generalizability of data collected. Another militating factor was the likelihood that key variables might change during the course of the study. The adaptation of the validated instrument (the questionnaire) might impact negatively on the quality of findings, generalizations and conclusions. Arrangements to meet respondents were done by e-mail or phone prior to the visits to be made at the research sites upon the consent of the responsible authorities. This reduced travelling expenses. To increase the base of data collection, triangulation of techniques was considered. The issue of confidentiality, honesty, anonymity and trustworthiness during the study was explained in order to win the respondents’ respects and willingness to participate in this study. The researcher adopted the progress summaries under the data analysis, it was however difficult for the researcher to record all the information since some respondents were not cooperative. The researcher could not interview some people, who were purposively selected, because they did not make themselves available for the interview, as a result interviews were rescheduled and that took too much time for collecting data. Another limitation of the study was that institutions were not cooperative in providing the necessary information that was important for the study, such as the modules or subjects that were undertaken by students doing the hospitality and tourism courses. This was overcome because the researcher is also a facilitator for modules in Tourism and Hospitality. Another limiting factor for the study was that the researcher is a full time classroom practitioner and did not find adequate quality time to administer the questionnaires, so to overcome this, the researcher applied for leave so as to be able to collect data.

1.10 Methodology

The survey method was used for the study. The survey research method was used to identify the possible gap between tourism curricula and Tourism industry needs. This survey method allowed an approach that was more qualitative than quantitative. Through the use of qualitative research, respondents were offered the opportunity to respond to questions more elaborately. The qualitative methods used in the study included semi-structured interview questions and open-ended questionnaires for students (Matei, 2013). This was used to help the researcher seek the views of employers and employees in the tourism industry as well as those of staff in training institutions regarding the level of competence on graduates after completing their studies and the benefits they get from such collaboration with relevant stakeholders, as well as the challenges they face. Out of the five institutions one university being Botho was used for pilot study. From each of the four training institutions chosen for the research, both students and industry staff were given open ended questionnaires to fill. A total of seventy five students were given open ended questionnaires to complete and fifteen industry staff from the five selected hospitality and hospitality industry. From each of the four institutions four heads of departments were purposively selected and interviewed by the researcher.

The researcher randomly selected five hospitality and tourism establishments in Francistown and Gaborone, and then interviewed two managers from each establishment which means a total of eight managers were interviewed.

The analysis of the data was done after the sorting. Bodgan and Biklen (1982, p. 145) have argued that analysis in qualitative data involves working with data, organising them, breaking them into manageable units, synthesizing them, searching for patterns, and discovering what is important and what is to be learned and deciding what to tell others. Patton (1990) intimates that qualitative analysis involves inductive analysis. This means that critical themes emerge out of the data. The challenge of this analysis was to place raw data into logical meaningful categories, to examine them holistically; and to find a way to communicate this interpretation to the readers. After the analysis, the next stage was to make sense out of the sorted data, provide interpretation for the emerging trends and features of the data, and compare them with the literature. Data procedures will be more elaborated in chapter 3.

1.11 Definition of terms

The following terms are used in conjunction to this study and such terms need to be defined for the purpose of this study;

Stakeholder

Stakeholders are defined as any individual or group who can affect the firm‘s performance or who is affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives (Freeman, 1984 cited in Dodds, 2012: 55). In a tourism context, Sautter and Leisen (1999 cited in Dodds, 2012: 55) and Bansal and Roth (2000 cited in Dodds, 2012: 55) outline that stakeholders consist of residents, management, government, activist groups/NGOs, employees, tourists and industry associations.

Internship

Internship is the process of giving students the opportunity to showcase their ability in the working environment with minimum supervision. Graduates are given a long duration to work in the hospitality and tourism industry focusing on the practical aspects on the business since the hospitality and tourism industry is a ‘hands on’ learning experience (Abdullah, et al 2014, p. 2).

Education

Education refers to participants’ experiences of formal, qualification-based and off-job study

(Mallon and Walton, 2005, p.473)

Curriculum

There is no agreed definition of curriculum, but the word curriculum derives from a Latin word, Currere, referring to the running of a course, as in a chariot race (Marsh and Willis,

2007; Hewitt, 2006). As a relatively modern term dating back to the nineteenth century, the actual term curriculum was used to describe the classics taught in schools during the classical period of Greek civilization. In the twentieth century, the term curriculum broadened to include subjects other than the classics (Marsh and Willis, 2007). Sometimes, the word curriculum is also used to describe “a discipline, a specific area of knowledge and academic study” (Hewitt, 2006, p. 406). Today, with the massive changes in technology and social thought, it is more important than ever for any definition of curriculum to consider the nature of learners and practical social needs.

Work related learning

Work related training involves the industrial attachment by the hospitality and tourism students so that they may put into practice what they have learned in class to be able to apply the skills during the industrial attachment. Students are therefore expected to practice other skills such as leadership, communication and general entrepreneurship skills (Matamamande, et al n.d, and p.3).

Career path learning

Career path learning assists students to gain knowledge and skills they may need in order to reach their personal career goals. This is done in connection with what the students have learnt at school around the specific professional fields such specializing in certain fields in tourism and hospitality like culinary arts, for example students focuses on professions that require highly technical training. Whilst other services such as human services are concerned with occupations that involve people skills (Obrien, 2014, p. 5).

Talent management

Talent management is the mixture of standard managing employee practices such as recruitment, selection and career development and staff retention. Talent management can also be referred to developing large talent pool with requisite skills and knowledge suitable for tourism and hospitality organisations. Thirdly talent management can be regarded as a resource to be managed primarily according to the level of performance as an undifferentiated good in terms of the organizational needs (Nzonzo and Chipfuva, 2013, p. 93).

Experiential learning

Researchers in education have illustrated experiential learning as a good way of practice in higher education processes. ‘This is a process in which knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. This includes learners discovering, processing and applying information and skills reflecting on what they have studied. This has a connection between the academic knowledge and practical skills, and furthermore it stresses practical application of knowledge to real – world situation’ (Bower, 2013, p. 32).

Work life balance

(Hudson, 2005, p.3) defined work life balance to say that it is a satisfactory level of engagement or to ‘fit’ within the various roles in an individual’s life. ‘Work life balance involves the examination of people’s ability to manage simultaneously the multi-faceted demands of life’.

1.12 Summary

This chapter made an attempt to highlight context of the problem. It examined the background to the study. It then highlighted the statement of the problem, the research questions that directed this research, purpose of study, objectives of the study, assumptions of the study, significance of the study and definition of key terms. The selected methodology was also highlighted. Chapter two reviewed the relevant literature on the history of Tourism and Hospitality Education at global level, regional level and local (Botswana) level. Chapter three has the introduction, the research design, sampling procedures, method of data collecting data, data analysis and summary. Chapter four shows the presentation of data, the analysis and the interpretation. Chapter five focused on the summary of the study, conclusions and recommendations.

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE RIVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter will review relevant literature gathered from various sources in order to have an understanding of what other academics are saying in relation to tourism and hospitality training in various nations. This literature review focuses on the history of tourism and training. Forms of tourism and education training are discussed as a global perspective. Tourism and education training from the developed world is also highlighted. A review of studies on tourism training from the developing countries is also presented. In this respect a study on tourism education and training is cited so as to give an overview of tourism and hospitality training. The chapter also consider tourism and hospitality training in Botswana in order to show some comparisons on how other nations are implementing the programme in their higher education institutions. The summary is given at the end of the chapter showing implications from the literature review.

2.2 History of tourism and training

Tourism and Hospitality training began as a need of introducing technical education or vocational schools whose emphasis was on practical skills in Europe late in the 1960 to the 1970s. The basis of such a line of thought was founded by the core skills that are related to skills that were transferable among the work force in Tourism and Hospitality industry (Nhuta, Makuyana, Makoni and Chuke, 2015). The provision of tourism and hospitality education training in the world is a new development that is recently taking shape, (Edgell, Allen and Swanson, 2008). In the United States of America George Washington University and the University of Surrey which is in the United Kingdom have been offering tourism and hospitality degree programs since 1973, (Copper and Shepered, 1997). This is relevant to this study as it shows the history of the programs. The assumption is that tourism and hospitality education was recognised late when compared with other study areas such as History or Geography. In the 1980s and early 1990s tourism and hospitality at university level was popularised.

In Australia it was reported that in 1998 Maldives College of Higher Education (MCHE) came into existence as a result of a presidential directive which was informed by Chapter 1, Official Matter’s Jayiyani 1/68, and article 2. With advice from parliament a shift focusing on Tourism and Hospitality training took a new dimension. In England and Wales tourism and hospitality education could be traced back to the Business Education Council (BEC) and Technical Education Council (TEC) programs that were pioneered at Bournemouth and Ealing Colleges of higher education and Hammersmith College in the 1960s. At this time tourism and hospitality was studied as part of an underground diploma in Business Studies. This trend can still be seen in institutions of higher learning in that tourism and hospitality education is offered as part of Business studies. This affected the implementation and the imparting of relevant modules since business studies was supposed to stand alone as much as tourism and hospitality studies. Goodenough and Page (1993); Koh, (1995); Tribe (1999); and Johnson and Airy, (1999) agreed that, tourism and hospitality education did not receive the attention it deserved because the Business Studies Curriculum favoured Business Studies Modules and compromised on the modules that were to address tourism and hospitality issues. A study that was conducted by Fidgeon (2011) confirmed that the education in tourism was compromised.

In countries such as India the need to develop skilled manpower that were destined to work in service industries such as tourism and hospitality industry was seen some years back and that gave birth to the schools of Tourism and Hospitality. It was observed that the government of India guided by the ministry of tourism initiated the Indian Institution of Tourism and Travel Management during the 80s, (Bagri and Babu, 2011). Even though tourism was old in India the country lacked proper procedures when it came to educational initiatives in Tourism and hospitality education. Bagri and Babu (2011, p. 41) said, “though the need of the past was served through the then found course, through few visionary leaders and academicians the diploma programs have been reshaped and upgraded into degree programs and slowly there happen to be much confusion in this regard.” This shows that even though some individuals may have wanted to introduce tourism and hospitality training, the political will was not there. In the past the type of tourism and Hospitality in India was vocational, there was no degree. One would see that the angle tourism and hospitality came from a background of education that was never thought of, looked down upon and by so doing young people were demotivated in taking up the tourism and hospitality programs. A country like India has a lot of places of interest that attracts tourist from different international angles, regional as well as local tourist. The contrary was that Bagri and Babu, (2011, p. 40) say, “must see destination,” for a long run can be realised if education was used to produce manpower that can market the program by providing excellent hospitality services. On the same note, what the writers say is relevant to this study and calls for education in tourism and hospitality so that the standards in handling tourist can be uplifted.

Horn and Lee (2005) explained that tourism in higher education in Taiwan started in 1965, but was gradually divided into categories of institutions such as academic and vocational institutions. The dichotomy formed had implication on the qualification with the view that people question vocational qualifications.

Hall (2005) indicated that the presence of tourism and hospitality tourism programs in education throughout the globe dated back to 1920s and countries involved were Austria and Switzerland. Research showed that the first program in tourism, and hospitality training was developed late 1970s and was influenced by the developments that took place in Europe. It was also noted that by 1997 tourism programs were now being offered at first degree level at three institutions and three universities in Europe, (Hall, 2005). The IQSR Journal (2013) reiterated in that tourism as a degree or diploma programs took off in different European countries in the early 1980s.

In Zimbabwe, the development of hospitality training started before 1980 with the establishment of the school of Hospitality and Tourism in Bulawayo. The Bulawayo Polytechnic started tourism training in Bulawayo in 1980. At that time it was a small department that specialised on Hotel, Catering, bakery as well as professional cookery and travel tourism at certificate and diploma level, (Nhuta, et al, 2015). The Bulawayo Polytechnic program was certified by Higher Education Examination (HEXCO) and this was a way of having standards in place unlike when the program was independently taught as well as independent assessment. It was noted that it was a good move towards meeting expected standards in delivering the program.

In India the institute of hotel management, catering and technology and applied nutrition was established in 1954 and by then it was the first institution offering the program in South Asia. This was a school that was founded by all Indian Women Central Food Council under the leadership of Munshi, (African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism, 2014). In 1958 a three year Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology was started and commissioned by the Technical Education in Maharashtra State in India, (African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism, 2014). It was observed that other areas of study like Geography, History, and Development studies took off before Tourism and Hospitality could be seen as an area of study. The skills that were to be developed in the field of tourism were compromised because reality that we see now is that each area of study has unique skills to be natured.

2.3 Forms of tourism and education training: A global overview

Tourism in many developing countries is a leading service sector creating employment opportunities for rural and urban communities. It generates one in every twelve job worldwide (United Nations World Tourism Organisation 2010). Tourism is labour intensive and involves people from all trades. Its success depends mainly on quality service therefore skilled and motivated workforce is needed. In developing nations tourism plays an important role in economic well-being with its development increasing foreign exchange earnings (Hampton & Jeyacheya, 2013; Knowles, Diamantis & Mairhabi, 2004; Shareef, Hoti and Mchleer 2008). As developing countries expand their participation in the global economy human capital becomes a critical factor for competitiveness, in the tourism and hospitality industry skills development for a productive workforce is essential for creating a successful service environment.

Throughout the world standards in tourism and education training have been a concern as such (Liu and Wall, 2006) observed that the enhancement of service delivery in tourism and education training have been affected by the nature of the instructors in tourism education as well as the infrastructure. The low standards were observed in Australia at the University of Queensland, which were seen to be a contributing factor in service delivery in tourism and hospitality the industry (Liu and Wall, 2006).

However in Australia, it is estimated that the tourism and hospitality industry consists of at least 80% small business operators, and these small businesses (employing less than 20 people) make up around fifty percent (50%) of the total tourism workforce (Beeton and Graetz, 2001; DITR, 2002). Riley et al. (2002) indicates that the tourism industry includes a number of sectors and activities. There is debate as to whether tourism can be seen as an industry in its own right, rather than an area of economic activity (Amoah and Baum, 1997). Tourism is not a recognised industry in the Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ABS, 2006 c). This probably made the institutions that offered the program not to have uniformity in the curricular and this was highlighted by Turki, et al, (2007) when they said consensus lacked between training institutions.

Even though other economies such as the Australian government did not realise the importance of tourism in boosting their economies, other countries such as the United Kingdom realised how tourism can improve people’s living standards. This was recognised by Fidgeon (2011) as the writer mentioned that the emerging of the service economy blended with monitoring the changing world, many governments embarked on the vocational education. Many learners realised that there is a need to study tourism and hospitality programme as they anticipated that there is employment opportunities in the tourism industry (Fidgeon, 2011). Writers have established that tourism industry as a growing sector can be a vocational trade in the educational curriculum. It was realised in the United Kingdom at the University of West London that there is a high number of students embarking on the tourism related programmes as a means of furthering their education. The high number of students’ enrolment in tourism related courses has been influenced by the development of vocational education throughout the western world (Fidgeon, 2011).

However, other governments such as India perceived tourism as a commodity that can develop the communities and their regions, as they strived to improve their education system in tourism education including the training resources (Burkart and Medlik, 1974; Tribe 1997 and Bergsma 2000, p. 40). Since the world is changing, it was mandatory for India as a developing country to review its policies considering the dynamic changes in geographic, cultural and artistic way of conducting things after realising the growth in tourism industry (Bagri and Babu, 2011). India as a developing country is establishing great chances in putting itself as destination that is striving to improve its vocational education though they are still developing their processes of vocational education. After establishing that the industry has stretched, institutions in India have improved their units in tourism education after realising that their programmes do not match with the industry’s expectations.

It was noted by the United States Agency (2007) (from survey questionnaires document) that in other parts of the world such as Armenia where they are focusing on tourism courses. The focus on tourism courses by the Armenian government is that they have realised growth in the tourism industry hence they are diverging the tourism courses into specialty such as branding. Another niche market that Armenia is focusing on is adventure tourism, medical tourism and ecotourism. By focusing more on this segments Armenia want to distinguish themselves from other nations. From the provided statement about the procedures and processes of tourism education in Armenia, since they are only concentrating much on only tourism courses excluding hospitality programmes, their curriculum content do not match with the Armenian tourism industry. The United States Agency (2007) observed that Armenia has far more job opportunities available in the hospitality sector as compared to tourism sector, therefore the curricular for Armenia should be inherited from other nations where they have tourism and hospitality courses blended together such as Russia. Since the Armenian government is offering physical courses only, the United States Agency (2007) established that curriculum is a bit restrictive and as a result lack the flexibility to be responsive to the needs of the industry.

Russia upon entering the Bologna system, their process of tourism in higher education, which is similar to the European system include: Bachelor, masters and higher doctorate. However, the range of training processes in Russia differs with other nations as observed by (Romanova, Romanov and Maznichenko, 2015).

Both the Bachelor and Masters training courses within the Europe region and United States of America (USA) contain three elements inclusive of: tourism, hospitality and recreation. The mentioned programs are designed with the aim of training students who are specialising in the mentioned areas. Some institutions such as Texas institute of management delivers, the following bachelor programmes: Resort and tourist programmes, financing and marketing in recreation, park and natural resources in the scope of tourism, tourism and resort development, tourism and environmental impact assessment, short overview of tourism, economics of tourism, analytical methods in the resort industry and park and tourism. United States Agency (2007) states that the universities in Russia offer a holistic approach concerning a service encounter in tourism education, which includes three main elements in Bachelor and Masters training, and this includes: service, tourism, hospitality management which involve the content of hotel management, restaurant management, resort and spa management. Other programmes being offered by the Russian universities that are recognised by the industry is hospitality management and marketing of tourist services. The writers revealed that programs in the tourism education need hands on practical, and therefore much concentration is on internship and skills development. The universities in Russia offer exactly what the employers in tourism and hospitality are looking for and at the same time facilitate reaction to any changes in the tourism market and needs of the learners. (Romanova, Romanov, Maznichenko, 2015).

A recent study by Cakar and Cizel (2015) found out that the Swiss higher education in tourism and hospitality field offer management courses which focus more on undergraduates and graduates courses with industrial work experience or practical within the industry. Many institutions in Switzerland ensure that all learners are engaged with the internship programs in order to have hands-on experience while still at the institution. The Switzerland institutions offer programs at bachelor and masters level, concentrating on the hands-on experience in the tourism and the hospitality industry. A lot of institutions search for places in the industry regarding internship in making sure that learners have an extensive practical experience in bridging students with the industry experts within the field of tourism and hospitality industry. Furthermore, some institutions offering hospitality and tourism courses enrol learners with the industry work experience as a requirement for enrolment into the hospitality and tourism courses. “the main characteristics of Switzerland’s higher education structure is that the courses that are offered by institutions are designed to provide undergraduates and graduates with practical work experience within the tourism industry together with the theoretical knowledge” (Cakar and Cizel 2015, p. 174).

2.4 Tourism education and training from the developed world

In the United Kingdom, the University of West London has the biggest tourism training in the Great Britain. The University of West London enrol more than three thousand students on various tourism programmes. The University offers different programmes starting from foundation Degrees in Travel and Tourism through to undergraduate honours degrees, a Postgraduate Certificate in Matsers in Tourism Management. The institution offers tourism programmes in the Great Britain and mainly vocational courses (Busby 2001, 2003). The University has a healthy relationship with the tourism industry with each academic level programme being sponsored by an industrial partner. There is also a specialist option in tourism which appears throughout the university. The University of West London and the institutions that they have collaborated with, namely Ealing College of Higher Education, the Polytechnic of West London together with Thames Valley University have been offering tourism education for more than thirty years. During that time a pedagogic and subject expertise was built. Alumni statistics for the University reveal that eighty seven percent of its students secure employment within three months of completing their programs, they also have a programme for graduate employment market (Guardian, 2009). In their curriculum, issues that need to be addressed from the operation of these programmes are considered such as academic progression and market maturity (Busby, 2003).

It has become a trend in the United Kingdom to incorporate an element of learning through work experience on many tourism programmes (Busby, et al., 1997 ; Busby, 2005; Cave, 1997; Cave, 1999; Walmsley et al., 2006). This is primarily attained by supporting and accrediting a compulsory aspect of work experience attached to a relevant company or organisation. The main approaches of achieving work-based learning include incorporating a supervised industrial attachment, accreditation of part-time or voluntary practical work and prior experience and learning. All this have been successfully developed across the full range of tourism programmes from National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) Travel and Tourism at Brooklands College Surrey (this is where placement system has been adopted) to BA Business Studies with Tourism at the University of the West of England which accredits part-time and voluntary work.

Other developed nations such as Australia are likely to continue their reputation in tourism education (King and Craig-Smith, 2005). Even though there are some recognised challenges for higher education in tourism programs to meet the needs of the industry. The previous research by Peacock and Ladkin (2002) indicate that tourism employers are keen to cooperate with tourism institutions so that they can improve on challenges they are facing in Australia.

A recent study by Nicolaides (2015) posits that Germany as a developed country has a reputable and strong vocational education and training system in place which is worth benchmarking and learning from. As industrialisation ascends during the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, this method of training was adopted by the emerging trades together with hospitality and related service industries. Since the twentieth century, this form of training has become common practice in the majority of occupational areas. Industrialised learning is conducted and students make further progress as skills and competencies are attained. The apprentices are advised that accuracy in hospitality and tourism is more vital than speed and they are given more chance to learn complicated skills in spaced learning which in turn is in a sequence of skill development.

Institutions offering higher education in Germany are considered to be higher education bodies which are incorporated under public law. Courses from different institutions culminate from masters degree or diploma in four or five years. (Smith, Clegg, Lawrence and Todd, 2007). Trainees from any institution are placed on an apprenticeship in a hotel, and will be paid rates which are negotiated at the national level. When they are carrying out their training at the industry, they are trained in line with carefully developed national curricula and the establishment also provides training of a theoretical nature to strengthen what the students have been taught at their tertiary education institution. While on the other hand tertiary institutions remain the main educator of the learners in terms of all academic learning which is indispensable and at least a fair measure of practical skill development in the kitchen has been practised. Nicolaides (2015) posits that learners are taught and develop their abilities by practicing hand-on experiences and do very well when they are encouraged to improve on their skills. “The key success in Germany is the total commitment of employers to training and their willingness to pay for training. Many hotel groups will even train a greater number of learners than they actually need for their own operations. “Many hospitality and tourism establishments in Germany reward their learners higher salary than one would expect and readily form partnerships with tertiary institutions that are able to provide them with the necessary skills” (Nicolaides, 2015, p. 7).

Based on the models that were developed by some scholars, Ritchie designed a model in 1995 and the main focus was on two programs comprising the Hotel school model and the hybrid model of tourism/education. The designed hybrid model concentrated on training managers for future industry leaders for the tourism industry in its broadest sense. The program was developed with the aim of coming up with a five year program which involves a total of twenty four months of practical work experience as an integral part of the program. A strong management orientation that balances social sciences disciplines which in turn will contribute to a broader understanding of tourism and all its impact was considered in the model. A well-adjusted view concerning tourism development and environmental and enhancement was also looked into. Other perspectives that were emphasised on Ritchie’s model were the development of language capabilities, a strong emphasis on the development of close working relationships with tourism organisations in both public and private sectors (Ritchie, Hudson and Sheenhan, 2002).

This Hybrid model by Ritchie was implemented in other nation’s institutions, they include Australia, Britain and Canada. The program is organised in a two plus two model where the first two years students focus on general management knowledge and hotel and restaurant management skills, and the next two on general management knowledge, tourism management knowledge as well as general education knowledge. The program is developed with the aim of producing students who are determined on their careers. Its broader perspective is the ability to combine practical training with a more based management education (Ritchie, Hudson and Sheenhan, 2002). The authors indicate that from this program graduates are highly demanded by the industry.

Koh’s model of 1995 was adopted by some of the universities in the United States of America (USA) whereby he believed that tourism education should be designed in accordance with the employer’s expectations where graduates are supposed to gain technical competent.

Tourism training has been in existence for some time and has offered the employers workforce with the required craft skills (Cooper and Dallas, 1999). In the USA institutions where craft skill approaches are common (Reigel and Dallas, 1999), Goodman and Sprague (1991) assert that programs recognise plenty of skill levels in the industry and therefore generate large numbers of well-trained line level of graduates. (Koh, 1995) present another model focusing on the Tourism and Hospitality programs that emphasises on the differences between the industry and educators as to curricula goals at the same time the calibre of graduates are to come from these programs. Koh’s model point out that experiential learning in the form of industrial attachment is a fundamental component of the curricula. Employers seek a realistic experience that will provide learners with opportunity of growth and development. (ED492761….pdf)

2.5 A review of studies on tourism training from the developing countries

The development of tourism programmes in developing nations has been influenced by many factors including the way in which tourism education is defined and the expectations met by the tourism and hospitality courses (Acola, 2006; Makaya and King, 2002). The most important aspect concerning the way in which tourism and hospitality courses are designed and purpose of the hospitality and tourism management degrees is the correctness of curriculum to meet both the students‘ expectations and expectations of the hospitality and tourism industry as developed nations are implementing the practices. Makaya and King (2002) posits that given the increasing importance on responsibility and the dominant climate of finance cuts in such developing countries like Kenya, there is a debate that tourism education experts should maintain their courses responsive to the expectations of the hospitality and tourism industry together with the expectations of their learners. Consideration need to be given to stakeholder needs most specially for curriculum creation and for tourism education implementation in less industrialised countries such as Zimbabwe and other African countries where resources are scarce.

Kelly–Patterson and George (2001) emphasized that institutions providing higher education in tourism and hospitality play a vital task in moulding students for the world of work and in creating and connecting what is really needed by the graduates and employers. In addition they said that there have been issues and indeed unsatisfactory results, expressed by scholars, industry experts and directors and students in the hospitality and tourism concerning the education perspective. According to Jenkins (2001) academics have critiques on the industry for its out-dated style of doing things and unprofessional human resources management methods, he continued to say that higher education courses may actually yield graduate disappointment with the hospitality career path resulting in many graduates looking for employment outside the tourism industry completely. Christou (2000) in his studies of industry needs of skills and capabilities highlighted that hospitality and tourism students need a range of skills like decision making and problem solving ability, teamwork, initiative and interpersonal skills in order to perform efficiently at the industry. Malone (2007) also found that teamwork, general ICT knowledge, verbal communication, presentation skills and time management were considered to be well developed transferable skills through academic programmes. As compared to the Irish system, O‘Connor (2002) reports that undergraduate hospitality management degree programmes build students‘ management skills and strengthen alertness of the exterior surrounding within which hospitality establishments operate. However, O‘Connor (2002) criticizes the programmes for failing to promote innovation especially in developing countries, creativity and entertainment to an effective level (A970B942393.pdf, from tourism education folder).

Velo and Mittaz (2006) examined the competencies needed by hospitality management graduates to cope with challenges facing hotel chains engaged in international expansion. The skills found to be most critical to the ability to break into emerging international markets were flexibility, openness and cultural awareness. These authors also draw attention to the vital role played by hospitality management educators in the development of these competencies. Ring et al. (2009) contend that the cultivation of these generic managerial competencies is assuming greater importance within the industry. Continuous research and stakeholder consultations have to be done for the curriculum to remain abreast of the industry changes and norms especially in developing nations like Kenya (Velo and Mittaz, 2006). Most studies consider the inclusion of industrial attachment/internship as an integral part of a tourism and hospitality degree programme (Heaton et al., 2008; Archer et al., 2008; Martin et al., 2010). Work placements can provide the ‘bridge‘ necessary for new graduates even before they have completed their degree course whilst at the same time making a significant contribution to the employing organization (Heaton et al., 2008). Work based learning also provides graduates with comprehensive skills desired by potential employers, in particular the development of behavioural people skills‘ such as self-confidence, communication, understanding work culture, work ethics, customer relationship, time management, initiative and relationship building and developing a sense of professionalism (Archer et al., 2008; Martin et al., 2010). At best, industrial attachment only ―adequately prepare‖ graduates for the realities of hospitality and tourism management provided both supervisors (academic and industry) effectively facilitate the integration of learning (Whitelaw, 2003; Martin et al., 2010).

In Zimbabwe and Kenya (both developing countries), their tourism employers often recruit and promote diploma holders and non-tourism than degree graduates (Dale and Robinson, 2001). This indicate the gaps the between the industry and higher education institutions and such an occurrence shows a waste of human and educational resources. A study conducted by Mayaka and King (2002) in Kenya indicate that considerable convergence between the perceptions of industry experts and education providers in connection with quality gaps in the creation skills or competencies. A number of systematic training shortcomings are identified including curriculum inconsistencies and inadequate development and enhancement of workplace skills. Zimbabwe and Kenya could also be facing similar imbalances holistically in the scope of tourism and training together with its relevance to the tourism industry and graduate expectations. “There has also been a scarcity of empirical evidence on Zimbabwe tourism education in general and in particular the Bachelor of Technology in Hospitality and Tourism (BTHT) programme on the extent to which their content and delivery has been effective in delivering has been effective in developing graduates competencies for the workplace and hence enabling them to instigate change (Mayaka and Robinson, p. 21).

South Africa has embarked on the National Commission for Co-operative Education which is referred to as Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and is a strategy for trying to blend together the theory and the highly productive work experience in an area which is almost similar to student’s academic and vocational objectives. The primary purpose of this is to encourage students to have a good vision on the whole process as this will strengthen their employability status after completion of the tourism and hospitality courses (Nicolaides, 2015). “The National Commission for Co-operative Education came up with WIL program since they felt that the tourism and the hospitality employers have raised a concern to say that students from different tertiary institutions that have studied tourism and hospitality courses are not effective enough to secure jobs in the tourism and the hospitality industry. Therefore, the National Commission for Co-operative Education in South Africa have appealed higher education institutions to produce more employable graduates” (Nicolaides, p. 2). A study conducted by Abomeh, (2012) in Nigeria recommended that the public and private bodies in the hospitality and tourism sector should be actively engaged in human resource training and development so that the industry function with enough supply of skilled and understanding manpower to encounter the present and the future challenges in the hospitality and tourism sector in developing countries. Abomeh (2012) stated that the hospitality and tourism stakeholders fail to advise or to encourage on some certain issues such as training in hospitality and tourism education. However, Abomeh (2012) reports that a number of hospitality stakeholders in Nigeria do give training an attention which could have made them professionals. Insufficient manpower in tourism and hospitality training contributes barriers to the development of hospitality education; hence there is a lot of unqualified hospitality education especially in academic qualification. Manono, Keiti and Momanyi (2013) alluded that Kenya on the other side, even though it has not been able to be successful on the training needs because of its limited capacity. The Kenyan government has since formed a joint program with the Swiss government in 1975 on tourism and hospitality courses, and these courses include accommodation and travel and tour operating sectors. ‘The Kenyan and the Swiss government formed the partnership with the aim of introducing their students to international market. (Manono, Keiti and Momanyi, p.60).

Yu (2010) noticed that the institutions in Singapore concentrate on labour force training from the primary all the way to secondary stage with the aim of producing various sectors under the management of government’s Vocational and Industrial Training Board (VITB). In Singapore the tertiary institutions that teach vocational trades specialise in training skilled technicians together with professionals. The Singapore style of vocational education and training has been practiced by many less developed countries such as China (Yu, 2010).

2.6 A study on tourism education and training

Dewey (1902) and Bobbit (1918) believed that curriculum developers should balance what the students are about to learn and what students should learn. The two academics noted that students’ interest should be embedded in formal courses when developing curriculum, they stated that curriculum is deeds and experience that students should learn for their success in the society. However, it has been said that this balance is from the tutors’ understanding on the students, leaving out the industrialists (employers) and other relevant stakeholders who can contribute to curriculum development. Furthermore, it can be said that curriculum is both a set of underpinning knowledge together with skills (competences) that are to be imparted to a tourism graduate, with the use of systematic approaches and appropriate facilities when deliberating a comprehensive knowledge and competencies to produce a graduate that can manage and operate the tourism business ahead of foreseeable future with sustainable competitive advantage. The curriculum is the major aspect that can produce graduates as the future knowledgeable labour force. This is why Ewell (1999) noted that the techniques for business management should be incorporated in the tourism curriculum as the driving force for higher learning institutions to meet the challenges associated with the industry’s manpower needs and dynamics. This indicates that tourism curriculum should meet the needs of student and the industrialist within the current and future professional tourism environment.

Literature review indicates that there is an increasing discussion among hospitality and tourism scholars on the effectiveness of the hospitality and tourism curricula more so at the university level (Sheldon, Fesenmaier, Wober, Cooper and Antonioli, 2008). Most of the scholars are frequently of the view that university tourism education, which in most instances have developed from purely vocational training courses which has not yet overcome its vocational focus (Busby and Fiedel, 2001; Tribe, 2002; Busby, 2003; Airey, 2005). The vocational drive could be better explained for technical colleges but with the embedment of hospitality and tourism education at the university level, the need for balancing vocational and liberal elements in the curricula is becoming increasingly important (Tribe, 2002; Morrisson and O’Mahony, 2003; Inui et al., 2006). Learners have to be educated in order to think critically, analyse issues and at the same time be able to use creative and modern ways of thinking to solve problems and hence adapting easily to changes. Moreover, students have to actively participate in developing and shaping the future of hospitality and tourism. This involve a strong focus on generic skills, which are described as the transferable skills which are fundamental for employability of graduates (Raybould and Wilkins, 2005; Ring et al., 2009.

2.7 Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training in Botswana

In Botswana just like in other regional areas (Manwa, 2009), tourism education is still in its fancy, with the first Bachelor’s degree in tourism and hospitality only introduced in 2006 by the University of Botswana (University of Botswana, 2009 prospectus, p. 19). At present various higher education institutions have similar courses without any classification and this worsens the levels of disaggregation in tertiary education. At the University of Botswana tourism is offered under the umbrella of business faculty either as an independent department or as part of an established business studies department at all the universities in Botswana. This effects did not differ from those observed in the literature review. In Kenya for example, Mayaka and Akama (2007) stated diversity in location of tourism departments. Manwa (2009) as well noted that similarity trends were also established in Zimbabwe where there is no uniformity in the location of tourism programmes.

Despite the improvement of the tertiary education policy in the country, there are some disturbing issues that still need to be given attention especially tourism education and training. Tourism education in Botswana is offered by both the private and public institutions together with in house training by different entities (Botswana Tourism Organisation, 2009, p. 20). The Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) report notes that the huge weaknesses related to in-house training is that it is only established companies that are able to deliver formal training. Some weaknesses that were picked by Botswana Tourism Organisation (2009) regarding in-house training is that some programmes are not accredited by the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) and before the latter was introduced institutions registered with Botswana Tertiary Education Council (BTEC) in which inconsistencies were be established.

Interestingly, the literature review shows that Bachelor’s degree that is offered by the universities in Botswana was consistent with the literature that was reviewed. The number of core tourism and hospitality courses and hospitality courses over a four year Bachelor’s programme differs significantly. A maximum of twenty three core tourism and hospitality courses out of fifty one courses in total was for one institution. For the ABE programme there are total of twenty four courses on offer up to advanced diploma level and of these only eight are core content relative to other courses is largely attributed to the multi-disciplinary characteristics of tourism.

As much as the stakeholder is also evidenced in other regional countries like Zimbabwe concerning education curriculum (Kapungu, 2007; Manwa, 2009), the same trend is also witnessed in Botswana. Tourism programmes should provide an opportunity for connecting students with a number of stakeholders. Currently companies in Botswana offer industrial attachment for the duration of one to six months. The apprenticeship programme is only offered by Madirelo Training and Testing Centre, but they offer lower levels such as National Craft Certificate (NCC) (Mupimpila, 2009). In Botswana there is little stakeholder involvement is developing the curriculum, institutions are not inviting any personnel from the industry to be part of advisory boards on issues concerning curriculum and practical examinations (Manwa, 2009). A gap has been established by the researcher as developed countries like Germany are placing their tourism students in different hotels and paid rates which are negotiated at the national level, a trend which Botswana is not practicing. The hospitality and tourism industry in Botswana are using graduates for cheap labour so that they push for more profits. The training they undergo through is in line with the developed national curricula and the establishment as well offers training of a theoretical nature to strengthen what learners have been taught at their learning institutions. A gap has also been established in Botswana’s institutions as they only send students to industrial attachment just for exposure without considering their curriculum whenever students are being trained. Students also do not get any motivation from the industry as most of the hotels fail to remunerate trainees while on attachment. Although the industry recognises that educational institutions are doing their job, nevertheless there are major concerns. There are apparently too many institutions which offer inconsistent training, moreover even if the industry training could improve the quality of the staff and in turn professionalise the industry, it would still not resolve the challenges of recruitment and competency shortages.

In benchmarking from what other developed nations are putting in practice, Botswana should consider the German style of vocational education whereby they practice dual education system by combining it with the apprenticeship. The benefits of this programme are that it integrates real work experience together with academic learning and delivering in vocational institutions together with the industry (Yu, 2010). Presently Botswana has not introduced any model in trying to improve by collaborating with international programmes and with the aim of changing the vocational education and training in hospitality and tourism.

2.8 Implications of the literature review

The nature of tourism education and training is unique. By being one of the service oriented sector and interdisciplinary sector, tourism education need to be taken seriously since it can also boost the economy of the country. The implications shows that most of the developed nations such as the United Kingdom and Germany are seriously considering embedding work experience and class activities in order to produce more competitive graduates. However, some scholars evidenced that in Australia standards are low as there is no uniformity that is being practiced by the institutions as the institutions lacked consensus (Australian Government, 2013).

This aspect is not popular in developing nations in which their hindrances are the result of the imbalances from the economy. Tourism programs need continuous change in curriculum which is being almost obsolete in some universities like in the United Kingdom. Tourism education needs to be continuously reviewed in order to meet the demand of the changing market. It was witnessed from the developed nations that tourism education should be more hands-on and practiced in a creative manner. Tourism education should encompass and be viewed not only as technical or professional courses but rather as a liberal course which should be regarded as vocational action, vocational reflection, reflective liberal and liberal action. However, the present form of tourism education fails and no efforts have been initiated by most of the high education institutions especially in Botswana towards the same styled that is being applied by developed countries, and the Botswana style leads to employ non-tourism graduates in the industry. Most studies consider the inclusion of industrial attachment/internship as an integral part of a tourism and hospitality degree programme. The literature review indicate that work placements can provide the bridge necessary for new graduates even before they complete their programs while at the same time making a significant contribution to the employing organisation. Work based learning also provides graduates with comprehensive skills desired by the potential employers, especially the development on competency and understanding work culture, work ethics and professionalism.

2.9 Summary

The challenges facing the developing countries are however more than those in the developed countries. Botswana’s tourism and hospitality level in terms of vocational education still need to be improved. Due to the country’s different culture, political and economic situation, it can be concluded that it is still difficult for Botswana copy other nations’ way of delivering their tourism and hospitality curriculum. However some other elements can still be acknowledged. In avoiding mismatching of careers, institutions must make it a point that they attach tourism students to tourism organisations that are relevant, because graduates end up being confused about their career path. Despite tourism establishments are still growing in Botswana, colleges must strive to guide their students accordingly when they choose their places of attachments.

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