1. Changing Occupations in the Tourism Sector
The Case of Canada
Marion Joppe
School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
International Workshop
29-30 April 2004

2. Current employment (2003) Food & Beverage Service 766,100
Recreation & Entertainment 379,400
Transportation 272,300
Accommodation 206,900
Travel Services ,200
Total ,665,900
10.7% of total employment in Canada

3. Industry Growth in Canada
Growth anticipated at 8-10% -- next 2 years
Dropping to 1-2% -- next decade
Growth above average over past 20 years
Employment growth at 2-2.5% -- next 2 years
Dropping to about 1% -- next decade
Olympic Games and attendant projects will put significant pressure on employment growth during

4. Projected Skill Shortages
3 Occupational categories:
Managers in Food Service and Accommodation: severe but only for medium- term
Chefs and Cooks:
medium but long-term
Occupations in Food and Beverage Services: medium but long-term

5. Causes of Skill Shortage
Aging of the population
Retention – heavy reliance on youth
Recruitment – salary and wage disparity
Internal skill gaps

6. Aging of the population

7. Dual Concern Much lower percentage of 45+ than other industries:
22% compared to
40% in goods-producing sectors
35% in services-producing sectors
Huge competition for youth segment years old
46% compared to
13% in goods-producing sectors
19% in services-producing sectors

8. Retention Heavy reliance on youth
Substantial number of part-time, temporary and casual workers
Business cycle and seasonality
Academic school year
Working conditions
Employment practices

9. Recruitment Image of the industry
Salaries and wages significantly below other professions
Skills easily transferable and much prized by other industries
Only 50% of tourism graduates in the labour market are working in tourism industry (B.C.)

10. Internal skill gap IT skills Literacy and numeracy
Communication/presentation skills
Customer handling/service
Problem solving and critical analysis
Leadership skills
Financial management and cost control
Project management

11. Weak internal market Few professions require certification of any kind
Pay and promotion have tenuous link with credentials
Few occupations with set educational requirements for employment
Many graduates from non-tourism programs hired into tourism occupations

12. Alternate sources of workers
Immigration
Aboriginals
Disabled
Older workers – early retirees
Social Assistance recipients

13. Fragmentation of HR policy
Split in functions with some overlap between federal and provincial/territorial governments
Human Resource Development Canada
Sector Councils
Education controlled provincially
Often separate responsibilities for
Secondary schools
Colleges and universities
Industry training, apprenticeship

14. Formal education Apprenticeships – limited to chefs and cooks
Certification – limited to travel agents, health related occupations, e.g. massage therapist
Colleges – 2, 3 and 4 yr applied degrees
Universities – 4 yr degrees and graduate programs
Only B.C. has seemless transition

15. Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) – sector council
national non-profit organization
promotes and enhances professionalism
network of partners
tourism businesses,
labour unions,
Provincial Tourism Education Councils (TECs),
provincial, territorial and national associations,
education/training providers,
government

16. Lead tourism human resource development in Canada
Sets a national vision and direction
Co-ordinates and facilitates establishment and maintenance of National Occupational Standards, training resources and Professional Certification
Promotes a training culture.

17. Acts as advocate nationally and internationally on tourism human resource issues.
Supports and encourage efforts to attract people to establish careers in tourism.
Acts as a clearinghouse and forum for information sharing and research

18. National Occupational Standards
Documents describing skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for competent performance in specific tourism occupation
Job profile
contains criteria-based performance statements,
knowledge requirements of the job,
contextual information
Benchmarks for assessments

19. Establishment of standards
Subject matter experts from across Canada: complete range of the occupation
Formal job analysis process
Additional data through observation, interviews, literature reviews, and surveys
Formal validation by the industry
measurable, competency-based standards designed by industry

20. Standardized tourism occupations
Some 50+ national occupational standards developed to date
From Door Staff to Golf Club General Manager
Many more at provincial level
Address portable skills:
basic
workplace specific
Many lead to formal certification

21. Example: Front Desk Agent
Covers the following topics:
Interpersonal Skills
Guest Services
Reservations and Sales
Arrivals and Departures
Departmental Operations
Safety and Security
Legislation

22. Professional Certification
Industry-recognized credential upon successful monstration of competence
Formal process of assessment
Candidates must meet minimum requirements or pre-requisites
Successfully pass examination
Meet specified experience requirements

23. HTNCareerNet.com
Job website that builds on the skills and qualifications identified through standards
Over 1000 pages of job specific profiles
Probably most comprehensive job matching service in the world today

24. Research in British Columbia
Long history of focusing on professionalism in tourism
Key sector of the economy
Aggressive growth targets
Most advanced integrated education system providing seamless transition
Most committed to occupational standards and certification

25. Source of Training
Survey of 1319 employees hired in 16 NOCs: 23% came from tourism related programs
Exceptions are chefs – 69%, cooks – 52% and outdoor recreation guides – 47%
Key tourism occupations show workforce with significantly lower educational attainment than general population

26. Educational level Significantly higher than (all occupations):
University (17%)
Conference and event planners 27%
Tour and travel guides 19%
Some post-secondary (45%)
Travel counsellors %
Tour and travel guides 60%
Chefs %
Conference and event planners 58%
Ticket and cargo agents (not airline) 57%
Program leaders/instructors in recreation/sport 57%
Hotel front desk clerks 55%
Food service supervisors 50%

27. Training gaps Skills across occupations, considered essential:
Communication: reading + writing + oral
Customer service
Numeracy
Problem solving
Decision-making
Risk management
Finding information
Job task planning and organizing
Working with others
Computer use
Practicing sustainability
Language proficiency

28. Training gaps Profession specific Adventure tourism/outfitting related
Ecotourism related
Health and wellness related
Casino management
Entrepreneurship