VietNamNet Bridge – Investors spending big on hotel and resorts are still spending small on staff training.

Receptionists themselves are the people who most meet and communicate with guests

Vong said investors only focus on the construction and installation and do not pay as much attention to training. In general, luxury hotels and resorts only think of recruiting staff once construction is finished, and in many cases, cannot employ good staff. As a result, many high grade hotels do not have high grade staff.

Also according to Vong, many hotels and restaurants now tend to appreciate management staff only, while undervaluing receptionists and other workers. As a result, hotels cannot enjoy a stable labor force in many posts, especially waiters.

“In fact, these normal workers themselves are the people who most meet and communicate with guests. They themselves make clients feel pleased or unsatisfied. Clients assess the service quality after they meet normal workers, not managers,” Vong said.

Attendants at the workshop pointed out the training curriculum for workers serving in the tourism industry remains problematic. Experts believe that lecturers with doctorate degrees are not really necessary in training workers for tourism industry, while experienced teachers prove to be more useful. However, the problem lies in the fact that those experienced are mostly working for hotels and restaurants, and not getting involved in teaching.

Attendants also said that most tourism schools have been focusing on theoretical lessons, while practical is more important.

“Foreign tourists arrive in Vietnam not only to relax, but also to learn about Vietnam’s culture. Therefore, the culture of the workers in tourism industry is really an important factor that helps develop Vietnam’s tourism,” said Huynh Quoc Thang from the HCM City Culture and Arts College.

According to dean of Tourism Culture Faculty under the Saigon University Pham Thu Nga, the labor force in tourism industry is deficient. There are a lot of unqualified workers, while the industry is still lacking well trained ones.

Nga said tourism school graduates are still lacking necessary skills for the jobs and most need to go through re-training courses to meet requirements.

There are currently 88 universities, junior colleges and vocational schools which provide workers for the tourism industry. However, schools meet just 50 percent of the demand. In HCM City, it is estimated that only 50 percent of workers in the industry has not gone through training.

VietNamNet/VNE