Hotel management as a career

Kavita Laithangbam *

The reception at Hotel Yaiphaba at MG Avenue, Imphal in October 2014 :: Pix - Daniel Chabungbam

Manipur is having educated unemployed youths much higher than other States, percentage wise. We may soon catch up with China. Many girls and boys undergo various training courses after class 12th examination. Besides, they also appear in many competitive examination, the most common being medical entrance tests. But seats are limited and the competition is tough.

One of the most common training courses boys and girls go is hotel management and allied courses. Hotel and tourism are fast expanding. Our politicians keep on promising industrialisation of tourism and three star hotels keep on coming up in and around Imphal.

There will be demands for the hotel management graduates. Some of the hotels have started running diploma courses basically to prepare candidates to suit their requirements.

A few years ago institutes from several states in general and West Bengal in particular used to lure our boys and girls with many promises. But they saw that most of the promises are hollow when it is too late to back out since huge amounts had been paid. The college, hostel and other facilities are not up to the expectations of the students and parents. Most of the institutes are run in some rented rooms.

During the 3 year course a student has to do practicals in a hotel with which the institute has some understanding. The highest stipend paid during this period is Rs 750 per month while some others do not pay at all.

The trainees have to work from 6 am to 4 pm or in the evening shift of this duration. In case some trainees and staff are on leave, which is quite often, the trainee has to do double duty.

And a trainee is allowed to sit during the lunch or dinner break lasting hardly 20 minutes only. All the trainees develop bone aches and those who have been in service have bone deformities.

Once the 3 year course is completed the institute will arrange placement with the highest pay of Rs 8000 per month. In a city this pay is meaningless. Taj Hotel, Mumbai is one of the few hotels which provide free accommodation. However the hostels are located at far off places. it is not safe for the Northeasterners to travel at 4 am or 11 pm by bus or train in the big cities.

It was seen that the hotels pay lower salary to the graduates offered by the institutes. In almost all cases the boys and the girls had sought employment elsewhere for higher pay, perks and better working atmosphere. To my knowledge there is not a single boy and girl from Manipur sticking to the hotel where the institute had fixed the employment.

There are now opportunities for undergoing training in hotel management in the NE. Some hotels in Imphal are also running diploma course. The government is also planning to set up a hotel management institute. In other words the institutes from other states today find that Manipur is no longer their hunting ground.

Most of them have been earning huge income whereas they pay a very small amount to the universities as affiliation fee for the distant learning.

The services of the institutes are unsatisfactory despite the fact that a student has to pay various fees and other expenses for organising picnics and excursions in which the teaching and non teaching staff join without paying anything.

There are some other branches in the hotel management where some Manipuri girls are gainfully employed. They had gone training in some other institutes. As more and more three or five star hotels will be coming up in the NE region there are employment opportunities. The only minus point is the long and double duties and low pay.

At this age it is somewhat unthinkable that a person should discharge duty from 6 am to 4 pm without permiting him to sit or stretch out except for the 20 minutes lunch break. There should be labour laws governing the working hours and conditions of all employees.