Careers Brief - Tourism & Hospitality Management FdA
Overview
The Tourism industry (travel, leisure and entertainment, accommodation, catering and transport) is one of the largest in the UK with excellent career prospects. It is a growing and fast-moving, customer-orientated environment. For success you would need to be mobile, adaptable and prepared to work flexible hours, which can be long and often unsocial.
Your course provides the knowledge and training to develop effective business management skills and competencies. These skills provide you with an excellent portfolio for a variety of careers both inside and outside this sector. You would improve your employment prospects by gaining appropriate work experience.
Tourism provides a wide range of job opportunities and job titles, including:
tourism marketing officer; tour leader/trek leader; travel consultant; travel agency manager; tour operator resort representative; tour operator product manager; tour operator contracts manager; tour operator product development co-ordinator; tourist information centre manager; events manager or sales executive; attractions sales and marketing administrator; public relations officer; hotel marketing executive; arts administrator; conference organiser; lifestyle consultant; magazine journalist; FE college lecturer; catering manager; retail manager; Human Resources/Training officer; passenger service agents; airline and airport management; ferry or cruise manager and many others.
Hospitality is one of the fastest-growing, job-creating sectors in the UK and abroad, offering the opportunity of an international career with rapid progression at management level in hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs, bars, contract catering, hospitality services within other organisations or self-employed.
Use the website links below to find out more.
To consider a wider choice of careers, matched to your interests, use Prospects Planner and other tools listed in the Career Planning section of this Careers Guide.
Further Study
You will be able to apply for a Top-up degree. Top-up degrees are designed as a direct progression from Foundation degree to achieve an Ordinary or Honours degree.
Alternatively, you could transfer into a related Honours degree course. Entry point would depend on your grades, experience and overlap between courses but could be into the final year.
Go to the Links on the HE Home page for information on the full-time BA (Hons) International Hospitality and Tourism Management at Bournemouth University (click on sub-heading 'Courses').
Other institutions offering Tourism Top-ups with Hospitality include:
University College Birmingham; Middlesex University; Northumbria University; Norwich City College of Further & Higher Education; Sheffield Hallam University; University of Sunderland.
For other institutions offering Tourism Top-ups go to the Tourism Management Course Brief.
To search for degree courses go to www.ucas.com/ (UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK). Use the university/college links for course details.
You will need to use UCAS to apply for courses. Contact the Course Tutor of your chosen course to find out your position, before you make your formal application.
Find out how much this will cost you. Where is the funding coming from? Go to the university/college website for information on course costs and finance and to www.direct.gov.uk/uni/ for additional help with student support.
With a good Honours degree (First or 2.1), you could progress onto an appropriate higher level Masters and/or PhD doctorate. This could be to develop your area of study to a more in-depth practical and/or academic level or to gain other specialist training.
For information on all postgraduate courses and research, go to the national online directory at www.postgraduate.ac.uk/links/pgstudy/ .
Go to the main section Further Study of this Guide for more information and help.
Resources
Springboard promoting careers in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism - go to sub-heading ‘Careerscope'
Graduate Prospects - online national careers service for HE students studying in the UK:
- Drop down ‘Careers advice’ and click on ‘Use your qualification’ for ‘Your foundation degree…what next?’
- Drop down 'Sectors' to click on 'Hospitality, tourism & sport'
- Drop down ‘Jobs & work’ and click on ‘Explore types of jobs’
- Drop down ‘Jobs & work' and click on ‘What jobs would suit me?’ for Prospects Planner.
UKSP – Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism jobs, careers and qualifications
www.guidance-research.org/future-trends/hospitality/
Warwick Institute for Employment Research - Hospitality sector
www.instituteofhospitality.org/
The Institute of Hospitality - professional body for managers (& aspiring managers) working in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industries
Online information source for hospitality
Totaljobs Group for careers and jobs - go to sub-heading ‘Advice’
British Hospitality Association
Barzone - leading specialist job agency for the licensed retail trade
ISPAL (The Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure) - go to sub-heading ‘Information Hub’ to click on ‘A career in sport, parks & leisure’
http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/
Careers database and links to jobs nationally. Search by either clicking on side-heading 'Careers' and choose a category or type in job title.
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/
Careers Advice Service
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u
Jobs4U Careers Database - click on sub-heading ‘Job Families & Articles’ for occupations in ‘Catering and Hospitality’ ‘Leisure, Sport and Tourism’
The Institute of Travel & Tourism - representing individuals employed in the travel and tourism industry
The Travel Association
Tourism Management Institute - professional institute for people working in destination management
The Tourism Society - professional membership body for people working in all sectors of travel and tourism
Federation of Tour Operators
Travel Weekly online magazine for news and jobs
Travel Trade Gazette online
GTI online publication - go to sub-headings 'Career sectors' + 'Careers advice'
Hobsons/GTI graduate careers publication online - Careers advice section
Career in Travel - information for aspiring Overseas Holiday Reps and Cabin Crew
Go to the Job Applications section of this Careers Guide for additional help and advice with making applications.
