As a Programme Leader of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at SEGi College Subang Jaya, my foremost responsibility lies in accentuating the significance of employability skills. This serves the dual purpose of better preparing our students for the professional world and ensuring they possess the essential attributes known as graduate employability skills.
Graduate employability skills encompass a graduate’s possession of specific skills and attitudes, along with their ability to effectively apply them in job search and retention. In the context of 4-star and 5-star hotels, employers highly value fresh graduates who exhibit a capacity to learn and adapt to their work environments. This adaptability significantly contributes to an individual’s effectiveness and success in the workplace. Employers’ perception regarding employability skills in the job market underscores their preference for graduates who possess four primary employability skills: interpersonal skills, management skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills.
First and foremost, the most esteemed of these employability skills is interpersonal skills, which cover collaborative teamwork, negotiation abilities, and competence in working with cultural diversity. In challenging economic conditions, new graduates must not only possess academic knowledge but also equip themselves with relevant soft skills attainable through group projects and assuming leadership roles.
Secondly, communication skills take precedence, emphasising the importance of effective writing and fluent speech. Graduates must master these crucial attributes before stepping into the professional world. Achieving this mastery can be facilitated through presentations and cultivating confidence, articulation, and professional speaking abilities.
Next is problem-solving skills, which involve recognising long-term consequences of solutions to problems and probing, devising, implementing, and evaluating a plan of action for problem resolution. Hotel employers need workers who will take personal responsibility for making sure targets are met. They prefer somebody who can see that there might be a better way of doing something and is prepared to research and implement change. They also demand people who will not panic or give up when things go wrong but who will seek a way around the problem.
Finally, management skills – refer to one’s capacity to sustain employment through career planning, continuous learning, and career management. Students must possess the ability to reflect upon their career aspirations and maintain a clear vision of their career goals. This can be achieved through delegation of work, collaboration, fostering positive expectations, and providing constructive feedback to others.
Moreover, a comprehensive understanding of the perspective of the hotel industry, coupled with valuable insights, will inspire universities and colleges to place greater emphasis on preparing students for the professional world. It is imperative that we equip our students with the requisite employability skills to ensure their career success.
About the Author:
AKMAL HAFIZ B. ABU BAKAR
Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, SEGi College Subang Jaya
Akmal Hafiz B. Abu Bakar boasts an impressive background with a rich tapestry of professional experiences. With an impressive seven years of dedicated service in the Higher Education industry, he has honed his expertise in various facets of education and learning. Additionally, his four-year stint in the food service industry has equipped him with a profound understanding of culinary arts and food safety practices. Akmal has also dedicated two years to training and coaching young adults across diverse fields. Akmal’s extensive knowledge spans a wide spectrum of subjects within the Hospitality and Tourism domain. His areas of expertise encompass Hospitality and Tourism modules, food safety and handling, and a comprehensive array of topics related to the hospitality industry. A few notable areas of his proficiency include ensuring the highest quality of customer service, resource management, and the finer points of table etiquette.