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 web links below in the Resources section, to find out more about the variety of opportunities open to you, entry and training routes.
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 Guide.
Further Study
Top-up degree programmes are designed as a direct progression from Foundation degree to Honours degree.
Use the Links on the HE Home page for information on the one-year top-up degree programmes at Bournemouth University: ‘International Hospitality and Tourism Management’ ‘International Hospitality Management’ ‘International Tourism Management’ ‘International Leisure Marketing’. In the Autumn Term of your final year, you will be invited to the university to tour facilities and attend talks to learn more about the courses available.
Other related one-year top-up degrees:
University of Brighton ‘International Tourism Management’; Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College ‘Travel & Tourism’; University of Central Lancashire ‘Management in Tourism’; Coventry University ‘Hospitality Management’; University of Greenwich ‘Tourism Management’ ‘Business(Tourism Management)’;
Leeds Metropolitan University ‘Managing International Tourism’ ‘Tourism Marketing Management’ ‘Resort Management’ ‘Tourist Destination Management’ ‘Conference & Exhibition Management’ ‘Event Fundraising & Sponsorship’ ‘Managing Cultural & Major Events’ ‘Sports Event Management’; Coleg LLandrillo Cymru ‘Management of Travel & Tourism’; Loughborough College ‘Tourism Management’ ‘Tourism Management with Events Organisation’ ‘Tourism Management with Airline Studies’;
Manchester Metropolitan University ‘Leisure Management(Tourism)’; Middlesex University ‘Hospitality & Tourism Management’ ‘Hospitality Management & Tourism’; Napier University Edinburgh ‘Tourism Management with Language’; University of Northampton ‘Travel & Tourism Management’; Northumbria University ‘International Hospitality & Tourism Management’; Norwich City College of Further & Higher (Associate of UEA) ‘Hospitality, Tourism & Leisure Management’;
University of Salford ‘Tourism Management’ ‘Hospitality & Tourism Management’ ‘Leisure & Tourism Management’; Staffordshire University ‘Travel & Tourism Management’; University of Sunderland ‘International Tourism & Hospitality Management’; Westminster Kingsway College ‘Hospitality & Business Management’ ‘Tourism & Business Management’; Writtle College ‘Adventure Tourism’.
Tourism students can progress into the 2nd or 3rd year of degree courses with similar content. Entry would depend both on your grades and overlap between your course and the initial year(s) you are missing. For courses not sufficiently similar, you would need to apply for year 1. Use www.ucas.com/search (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK ) to find suitable courses. Use the university/college links for course details.
You will need to use UCAS (see link above) 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? Refer to the university/college website for information on course costs and to www.aimhigher.ac.uk for additional information on student support.
Go to the main section Further Study in this Careers Guide for more information and help.
Resources
www.springboarduk.org.uk/careers
Springboard UK - careers information site for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. Use ‘Careerscope online’:
- Go to ‘Jobs database’ to drop down and Choose a Sector (Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs, Clubs, Food Service Management, Conference & corporate hospitality, Travel & tourism, Leisure, Hospitality Retail)
- Choose a sub-sector and job titles for related job descriptions
www.prospects.ac.uk
Graduate Prospects is the careers website for higher education students in the UK:
- Drop down ‘Careers advice’ and click on ‘Use your qualification’ for ‘Your foundation degree…what next?’
- Drop down ‘Jobs & work’ and click on ‘Explore types of jobs’ and ‘Explore job sectors’
- Drop down ‘My Prospects’ and click on ‘What jobs would suit me?’ for Prospects Planner and other services.
www.people1st.co.uk
People 1st – first for skills for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism. Go to ‘Career Guide’.
www.hcima.org.uk
Institute of Hospitality – the professional body for the hospitality industry. Go to ‘Student Zone’.
www.caterersearch.com
Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine - information source for hospitality including articles, news, jobs, employer directory
www.caterer.com
Recruitment agency:
- Go to ‘Advice’ for useful summaries of ‘Popular industry roles’
- Check out ‘Employer A-Z’ and job vacancies or ‘Search by specialism’
www.bha.org.uk
The national trade association for the hospitality industry for news and ‘Students’ section
www.barzone.co.uk
BII (formerly The British Institute of Innkeeping ) promoting careers in the licensed trade
www.ispal.org.uk
ISPAL the professional body for sport, parks and leisure professionals - news, careers information and jobs (Leisure Opportunities):
- Go to ‘Information Hub’ to click on ‘A career in sports, parks & leisure’. Download ‘Careers in Leisure’.
jobseekers.direct.gov.uk
Careers database and links to jobs nationally:
- Search by either clicking on 'careers' and 'choosing a category' or type in job title.
www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles
Learn Direct - national learning advice
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u
Jobs4U Careers Database - click on ‘Job Families and Articles’ for occupations in ‘Catering and Hospitality’ ‘Leisure, Sport and Tourism’
http://targetjobs.co.uk
GTI (publication) graduate jobs and careers
www.itt.co.uk
The Institute of Travel & Tourism – including employment and careers advice line for student/graduate members.
www.careerintravel.co.uk
Career in Travel – E-learning and Careers Advice for Holiday Representatives and Air Cabin Crew.
www.abta.com
Association of British Travel Agents
www.tmi.org.uk
The Tourism Management Institute, the professional institute for destination management in the UK – local authorities and attractions, information centres, destination management partnerships, visitor bureaux, regional tourist boards, regional development agencies, national tourism organisations, national parks, consultancy, training and service providers.
www.tourismsociety.org
The Tourism Society is the professional body for people working in the visitor economy
www.fto.co.uk
Federation of Tour Operators
www.travelweekly.co.uk
Reed Business Information online magazine for news and jobs
www.ttglive.com
Travel Trade Gazette online
www.get.hobsons.co.uk
Hobsons (publisher) Graduate Employment and Training - go to 'Career advice/advice by career area' and click on 'Leisure and hospitality, leisure and tourism'
