From Hospitality Classrooms to Successful Careers: A Current Appraisal of Australian International Hotel Requirements

ABSTRACT Hospitality higher education institutions struggle to ensure students’ learning outcomes are relevant to the requirements of workplaces. Therefore, it is important that these institutions begin to close the gap between the skills that students graduate with, and the skills the industry requires. This paper examines the curriculum and pedagogic requirements that contribute to beneficial graduate outcomes for Australian hotel management students. Specifically, the study seeks to identify the necessary competencies that make hotel management graduates more employable and achieve successful careers in the contemporary Australian hotel industry. Key findings from this study highlight the importance of “soft skills” and the need for hotel managers to possess sound leadership, communication, customer service, people, and financial capabilities. To inform this study, a range of Australian hotel managers are used as research participants and the outcomes appraise, advance and potentially reposition hotel management curriculum in Australia.