Low skill and a whole lotta initiative
I was watching the TV series ‘Blue Bloods’, where, in one episode, the character portraying Chico, a demobilized army soldier who had served in Iran, now wishing to join the Police force, was asked by the interviewing Police Commissioner “So, what did the army teach you?” The ex-serviceman replied “I was taught to keep my head high, be ever watchful, to watch out for others and how to stay alive”. When asked “Why should we recruit you?” He responded” I may have low skills… but I’ve got a whole lotta drive, discipline and initiative to go beyond staying alive”.
These answers, especially the one about possessing low skills and initiative, got me really thinking on how this line of thought is applied in the Hospitality labour market. What exactly do ‘low skills’ mean? Is it the actual technical requirements of the job? Or is it an indicator of the value that our society places on the particular job in question? Or is it a combination of both?
The public perception of Hospitality work is widely characterised as low skill. This assumption lies with the general portrayal of a sector struggling to deal with an ‘uneducated, unmotivated, untrained, unskilled and unproductive’ workforce. Consequently, Hospitality-related work is often labeled as ‘low or unskilled’. I believe this to be both unhelpful and unjustifiable as the low skills argument tends to overlook the opportunities that hospitality provides for the relatively easy access to the use of entrepreneurial and management skills.
An equally strong but lesser known assertion is that expressed by Author Baum in his book ‘Human Resource Management in the European Tourism and Hospitality Industry’, where he contends that “An important feature of skills within hospitality is the range of capabilities that a diverse sector can accommodate. The sector is one that provides opportunities that range from senior global business management through to work that is within the capability of people with a range of physical and learning disabilities”.
Initiative is also a valued skill and one found to be lacking in the industry. Some might say it is a detail; but it is a detail of importance. When recruiting, HR people tend to focus on people they feel are good at following instructions in a ‘command and control’ environment. Can these organisations expect recruits to then show initiative? Most people who are good at following instructions may not be able to show much initiative.
It has been long accepted that the development of skills to satisfy the requirements of the various stakeholders in hospitality can occur through a robust partnership between the industry and the academic/training providers, with each playing a complementary role. However, although industry leaders and managers acknowledge that certain educational institutions are doing adequately well, they voice several concerns. Apparently, there are several providers who offer poor and incompatible training and who train the wrong people merely to secure a training subsidy from funding agencies, etc.
On the flipside, the industry needs to develop a more attractive image so as to ensure a stable level of employment recruitment and retention. Such an action, coupled with a clearly defined nationally recognised educational and skills scheme in terms of qualification, training and internship will not only enhance the image of the industry, but also attract an able and willing workforce.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, “Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier |
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