Hotel Industry: A great career option

Jamkholal Haokip *

The Classic Hotel at North AOC, Imphal

It is defining momentto share the opportunities that beckon young people in the hotel industry. The good news is, apart from UPSC, MPSC, MBBS, Engineering, Banking Services, Academics (Lecturer) etc.,job oriented courses in the hospitality sectors particularly in the hotel industry are on the rise. For brevity and better understanding, education related to training may be categorisedintoknowledge or skill based training - imparted to equip the learners or the students to meet the challenges that could be expected in the competitive workplace environment. However, not every school, college or university courses are specialised in skill based training and development.

Most of the conventional courses provided in the schools, colleges and universities are not job oriented per se. For this very reason it becomes necessary even for BA, MA and PhD degree holders to follow up with skill based training before they could be employed. Consequently many graduates, post graduates and doctorates even after their hard earned degree, find themselves running pillar to post for employment.

The boom in the tourism sector has a knock on effect in the hotel industry. As a result there is a spurt in the number of star hotels in India and Manipur as well. In fact the growth rate in this industry is estimated to be 200% per year (http://www.hoteliersnest.com/institution.php). This opens up the flood gate of employment, but, only for those who are skilled in hospitality services.

Overwhelming majority of the private companies and forward looking organisations even in the public sector have a preference for Master of Business Administration (MBA) Graduates to meet the challenges; due to the fast changing global standards and better management skills required in the workplace. However, one significant aspect of the management course, which should be given due importance is the reputation or the ranking of the Management Institute or University, that isawarding the degree. It is a must to check their testimonies in terms of successful placement in the job market.

Predictably even the engineers, doctors and architects could enhance their efficiency and effectiveness through MBA program.

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is conducted with the support of Computer Adaptive Test a.k.a Common Admission Test (CAT). The GMAT which involves analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills in Standard written English test is thenorm for selecting the candidates for the various Management Institutes- on the basis of their competitive scores. Apparently this selection procedure is followed by 112 countries across the globe (GMAC, 2014).

However, the entrance for the Hotel Management Institute is a different ball game; it is either Joint Entrance Examination or Local Entrance Examination. The following are some of the most common courses offered by the hotel management institutes.

Hotel Management course

* Bachelor of Arts in Hotel Management
* Bachelor of Hotel Management (BHM)
* Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management
* BA (Hons) in Hotel Management
* BBA in Hotel Management
* Master of Science in Hotel Management
* MBA in Hotel Management
* Diploma in Hotel Management
* Diploma in Hospitality Operations
* Diploma in Food Preparation and Culinary Arts
* Post Graduate Diploma in Hotel Management
* Certificate Courses in Hotel and Catering Management
* Craftsmanship Courses

The duration of the course may vary from one institute to another. Generally the bachelor degree courses are for a period of 3 to 4 years, the master degree for about 18 to 24 months whereas the diploma courses may be around 6 to 18 months. However, in reality the duration depends on the number of days the faculty takes to complete the modules of the course.

Eligibility Criteria for Hotel Management Course

Diploma course after X Standard: Diploma candidates should be Class X passed and they should have scored at least 40%.
Bachelor Degree: For this level, the requirement is Class XII passed and their marks should be 50%.
Post Graduate Degree: This course could be applied by anyone who has got a bachelor degree from a recognised university with a minimum of 45%.
Short term course: The applicants should be a minimum of Class X Standard.
Broadly, all the above mentioned courses target the age group of 18 to 27 years.

Career Options in Hotel Management

* Front office Manager
* Food and Beverage Manager
* Banquet Manager
* Human Resources and Secretary
* Air Hostess and Flight Stewards
* Assistant restaurant manager
* Restaurant manager
* Bar Manager
* House Keeping Manager
* Hotel Administration
* Dietician
* Travel & Tourism Management, etc.

Top Hotel Management Colleges in India

* IHM Mumbai
* IHM Aurangabad (Taj Group)
* IHM Chennai
* Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal
* IHM Ahmedabad
* IHM Hyderabad
* Institute of Hotel Management, Gwalior
* Dr.Ambedkar Inst.of Hotel Management, Chandigarh
* Rizvi Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai
* Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Delhi
* NSHM School of Hotel Management, Durgapur
* Amity School of Hospitality, Noida (htcampus.com, 2014)

Top Hotel Management Institute in Manipur

Classic Hospitality Training Institute
[RIMS Road, BABINA Diagnostics (3rd Floor), Imphal West – 795001]

Course offered include:
* Diploma in Hospitality Operations
* Diploma in Food Preparation and Culinary Arts

Both these courses are for a period of 1 year. Eligibility criteria includes: Class XII passed for Hospitality Operations and Class X passed for the Culinary Arts. The target group remains 18 to 27 years. Entrance is conducted in two stages: once the applicant clears the written test, an interviewwould follow. At the end of the course, successful candidates with at least 90% attendance would be awarded a certificate.Job placement would be provided to all the successful candidates.

Career guidance is being provided (free of cost) at the institute from Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. As there are limited seats, interested candidates are invited to apply for the course at the earliest possible. Please note that the seats for Diploma in Hospitality Operations are already filled by now.