Academe urged to forge links with tourism sector

The regional office of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED-7) is encouraging the academe and the tourism industry players to forge a stronger partnership to create a good pool of workforce in the tourism business.

CHED-7 regional director Enrique Grecia said in Cebu those students who are taking tourism related courses could well benefit of the booming tourism industry in the province, provided that the academe is providing the applicable theory to the real world.

"One of the problems is that the curriculum offered by universities don't give the actual need or skill requirements of the industry," Grecia said.

Although CHED already introduced a blueprint of the revised curriculum for the tourism related courses, such as Hotel, Restaurant Management (HRM), among others, he said there is still a need for both sectors to seriously discuss to cut off the industry-academe gap, in terms of skills supply.

Grecia mentioned that CHED is also implementing a program to provide tourism graduates with job opportunities in other countries.

"We have done several negotiations with other stockholders of tourism related industries in other countries," Grecia said.

He said CHED, together with industry players in the tourism sector could also forge a stronger partnership to further boost the tourism industry in Cebu.

Aside from service oriented requirement, Grecia said the academe and the tourism industry players could also implement a program that will promote the "culture of tourism" school to school, to inject the desired "culture of tourism" to the next generation tourism industry workers.

Like any other industry, such as Information Technology, Call Centers, the link between the industry need and the academe is harder to establish.

Although some industry sectors are now starting to initiate closer relationships with the academe players, the gap is still obvious as companies still spend for training on newly hired workers.

In the tourism sector, industry players are demanding for more rank-and-file manpower skills rather than those HRM graduates who mostly want to get the managerial or supervisory positions immediately.

Tourism is one of the two industries in Cebu being projected to become the economic drivers for the Cebu economy in the next few years.

Cebu is positioned to become an internationally at par tourism destination, having been recognized by the Philippine government with earlier pronouncement of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as "the center for tourism" in the Philippines.

Private sector players, led by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has started to promote the "culture of tourism" for Cebu, wherein every resident especially the front liners in the tourism trade should adopt a good "tourism culture" that is highlighting hospitality, honestly, and friendliness to visitors.