Tourism and hospitality employment motivation,success perception,job attainment strategies and post-secondary education aspiration among high school students

Abstract

Schein (1991) has argued that it is of critical importance to understand and facilitate the process of adaptation in career choice among older teenagers. This study has investigated career choice adaptation among Australian high school students in regard to the tourism and hospitality industry, a context which offers growing potential for employment and careers for many Australian school leavers. Five hundred and ninety-four students enrolled in Years 11 and 12 in five State high schools from the Far North Queensland region were sampled so as to examine work motivation, success perception, job attainment strategies and further education preferences in respect of employment in the tourism and hospitality industry. Many students demonstrated high levels of motivation to attain tourism and hospitality industry employment on leaving school, but were somewhat less confident of attaining such employment. Technical and Further Education (TAFE) training was most highly ranked as the preferred mode of post-secondary school education. It was also found that those students who demonstrated no preparedness to consider post-secondary school education were more likely to opt for a job attainment strategy involving present skill requirements of employers, whereas male students were more likely to opt for a job attainment strategy which focused on good health alone. Further analyses revealed high vocational motivation and high success perception to be associated with a job attainment strategy involving the anticipation of future requirements of employers. Universities were regarded as suitable for providing high academic qualifications, whereas TAFE institutions were regarded as suitable for providing qualifications appropriate to present employer requirements. Finally In-house training was regarded as highly suitable forequippingstudents with skills and training appropriate to anticipated future requirements of employers. This study has delineated clear patterns of adaptation in regard to tourism and hospitality industry career choice perceptions, and has thus provided some basic understanding of the adaptation process in career choice regarding the Australian tourism and hospitality industry, together with some directions for further research in this area. The implications of these findings for students, careers counsellors and for the tourism and hospitality industry are examined.