Abstract
Service industries in general and the tourist industry in particular make a significant contribution to the economy of Great Britain. Over 1.1 million people are currently employed either directly or indirectly in the tourist industry and it directly accounts for 4.7 percent of all UK employment. However, the subject of education and training for careers in tourism has been poorly quantified to date and little research has been done in this field of study. Yet any policies to promote the growth of the tourist industry must depend upon adequate numbers of trained people being available at all levels within the industry. If the tourist industry is to be encouraged as a major growth area in the UK economy it is essential that there are sufficient numbers of qualified people to prepare and implement tourism development plans, manage regional and national tourist organizations and staff the many firms which make up the tourist industry.
This paper is based on a study carried out for the English Tourist Board, although any views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. It has been supplemented by more recent information on courses and course developments since 1985.
“Education and training” is taken to mean educational and vocational training courses covering the whole field of further and higher education, from technical colleges through to universities, which are aimed at raising the level of skills and knowledge needed to work in the tourist industry. The study focused on the non-hotel sectors of the tourist industry because it was felt that the hotel and catering sector was well developed. However, it was felt that training in the tourist services sector is in a much earlier stage of development and has quite different manpower and training requirements. The aims of the study was to examine the existing provision of education and training courses in relation to the manpower needs of the industry, to identify shortfalls in provision and to suggest ways of meeting these short falls.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.