Editorial

One hand washes the other and together they wash the face

It has been said and I'll repeat it again here: training is crucial to the good health of our sector, which also depends on the well-being of its workforce and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. To establish this virtuous circle, it is essential to provide training that is adapted, coherent and consistent with the professions. However, professionals increasingly have the impression that the gap between academics and operators is widening. Instructors have sometimes allowed the realities on the ground to drift away and masterfully handle theory, although it is light years away from the real needs of hoteliers.

Hospitality schools provide excellent training for future managers in the sector. These young people see the country, touch many disciplines and receive effective training, but when they complete their initial training they are disconnected from the realities of the market. To earn 3000 € as a young graduate is more an exception than the rule and few seem to be aware of it. This gap contributes to the desertion of young graduates from the sector who leave to work in more attractive sectors of the service industries, as their expectations being totally disproportionate to what the hotel industry can offer them.

This touches on a central problem: how can we attract young talent if we cannot offer them prospects for development? The elevator that was working so well just a few decades ago is clearly broken. The professions at the bottom of the scale are very poorly valued, poorly paid and unattractive, they are difficult to fill with low-skilled workers who are primarily looking for a means of subsistence.

CAP, BEP or Bac Pro training in the sector is not valued. However, there are still professionals who are flourishing and progressing in operational professions such as the dining room, the kitchen or even governance, reception and the bursary. Managers are needed and are certainly essential, but we must not forget the operational staff who run the properties and are often the first to have direct contact with the customer....

The situation is deplorable, but we know solutions exist. Germany is once again a model for the training and employment of future professionals in the hotel sector. When you welcome and train a young person, when you share your passion for the job, the tricks, the little daily satisfactions, with them, then they want to stay and thrive. It is also necessary to be ready to welcome him, to know how to do it and to adapt to his personality, his capacities and his aspirations. There are few things more difficult to do than to transmission, especially when you must struggle daily to keep a business running and prospering.

When will we be able to really innovate within our sector? Why should disruption always come from the outside? Let us break down codes and barriers, collaborate, think together and move forward. Notice to all professionals in initial and continuing training, let's work together and make progress because the future of our industry is also determined in part by the dynamism of its employees. There are some great initiatives that are fruit bearing, but these are still too confidential. So, come and brain storm with us at the next Global Lodging Forum on Monday and Tuesday, April 15 and 16, 2019 and let's build a collective movement for the future of professionals in the sector. Because just as our two hands need one another to wash, professionals and educators must work together to present a clean and attractive face for future professionals in the sector.

Sign up to add topics in favorite. Sign up to add categories in favorite. Sign up to add content in favorite. Register for free to vote for the application.

Already signed up? Already signed up? Already signed up? Already registered?